Pedro Pascal Says Marvel Asked Him to Pull Back From Doing One Specific Thing While Filming ‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’
Pedro Pascal is getting ready to stretch into one of his biggest roles yet, literally. The “Last of Us” and “Mandalorian” star is playing Reed Richards, also known as Mister Fantastic, in The Fantastic Four: First Steps, the next big Marvel Studios reboot.
The movie doesn’t come out until July 25, 2025, but Pascal has already joined the rest of the team on the set of Avengers: Doomsday. He’s expected to show up again in Avengers: Secret Wars too, which means he’s becoming a key part of the MCU
During a conversation with Vanity Fair, Pascal talked about how he prepared for playing Reed, and what kind of voice he originally used for the role. Turns out, Marvel had to step in and ask him to change it.
“They had a dialect coach that was sort of gonna help us into that kind of dialect. And I took to it so well… they were like, ‘Uh, talk more like yourself,’” Pascal said.
He explained that he was really getting into the vibe of the movie’s 1960s-inspired setting.
“I had a hard time doing that, ‘cause I was so into the era, which for me was something to step into so that it’s different than what we’ve seen before,” he added.
Pascal was trying out a mid-Atlantic accent—a type of voice people used in movies and theater back in the early to mid-20th century, kind of a mix between American and British English. It fit the old-school tone of the movie, but Marvel wanted something more modern, probably because his character will be interacting with present-day Avengers like Spider-Man and the X-Men.
Even though fans online have had mixed feelings about Pascal’s beard in the role, most seem happy with the casting overall. His performance is already generating buzz, and with multiple Marvel projects lined up, Reed Richards could end up being one of his most iconic roles.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps is being directed by Matt Shakman and written by Josh Friedman and Eric Pearson. The movie features a star-studded cast with Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and Joseph Quinn playing the rest of Marvel’s First Family. They’ll face off against Galactus, played by Ralph Ineson, in a story set in a retro-futuristic version of the 1960s.
The film will skip the team’s origin story, something Marvel confirmed during early development. That’s one way this reboot sets itself apart from previous attempts. Shooting wrapped in late 2024 after filming took place in England and Spain. According to Marvel, it’ll also be the first movie in Phase Six of the MCU, and a sequel is already in the works.
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