Fantastic Four star Pedro Pascal was more aware of the "disgruntlement" around his casting as Reed Richards than his roles in Game of Thrones or The Last of Us: "He's too old, he's not right"

Pedro Pascal says he's more aware of the eye rolls around his Fantastic Four casting than any other roles in his career.

"I’m more aware of disgruntlement around my casting than anything I've ever done," Pascal told Vanity Fair. "'He's too old. He's not right. He needs to shave.'"

It was announced back in 2023 that Pascal would play Reed Richards aka Mr. Fantastic in the Fantastic Four's first official entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Reed was previously portrayed by Ioan Gruffudd in 2005's Fantastic Four, Miles Teller in the 2015 reboot, and John Krasinski in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness – though the latter was an alternate universe version.

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Pascal's casting did come as somewhat of a surprise to fans, but we later learned that he was approached directly for the role by director Matt Shakman. The actor's star grew after being cast as Joel Miller in The Last of Us TV show, which was met with little to no pushback from diehard fans (which is truly saying a lot).

It was recently confirmed that Pascal and the rest of the Fantastic Four will appear once again in Avengers: Doomsday – which makes perfect sense given that Dr. Doom (played by Robert Downey Jr.) is a notorious archenemy of the Fantastic Four in the comic books. Pascal says that Downey offered him support after his Marvel casting, with the actor referring to Downey as "generous and inviting."

The Fantastic Four: First Steps is set to hit theaters on July 25, 2025. For more, check out our guides to upcoming Marvel movies and shows and how to watch the Marvel movies in order.