Pedro Pascal Faces Backlash Over His ‘Fantastic Four’ Moment with Vanessa Kirby, Highlighting the Toxicity of Some Fandoms

‘Fantastic Four: First Steps’ is set to be one of the most anticipated upcoming MCU movies, bringing Marvel’s first family into the MCU along with iconic characters like Galactus, Silver Surfer, Franklin Richards, and various other villains. Despite the enormous hype, a segment of the fandom is already trying to discredit the movie before its release.

The main controversy centers around the casting choices, with fans upset over Silver Surfer being portrayed by a woman, leading to actress Julia Garner receiving significant backlash. Surprisingly, Pedro Pascal has also become a target of criticism from some fans.

Pedro Pascal was cast as Reed Richards some time ago, with the news going public over six months back. Many fans have expressed dissatisfaction with Pascal in the role, mainly because he seems to be everywhere lately, and most fans were hoping for John Krasinski to reprise the role following his cameo in ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.’

The most recent incident involving Pascal’s criticism is surprisingly trivial. During this year’s SDCC, Pascal and his ‘Fantastic Four’ co-star Vanessa Kirby were seen standing side-by-side during a panel discussion. At one point, Pascal reached toward Kirby, and it appeared they shared a brief, tender touch. An account on X (formerly Twitter) that posted the moment claimed Pascal was dealing with anxiety and needed to touch someone to alleviate it.

While the accuracy of this claim is questionable since Pascal hasn’t confirmed it, the actor did mention several years ago that he struggled with anxiety until he learned how to manage it.

Anxiety is something that I’ve lived with since I was a child, so it’s a part of my chemistry. I don’t know what kind of person I’d be without it. It’s something that I manage, but it’s also part of what makes me, me.

I know that I have to put myself in high-stress situations to be happy. I mean, within reason. But there’s a certain level of anxiety that helps me do good work. It helps me be aware of the things I need to be aware of. 

Regardless, some of the comments on the footage were far from supportive:

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