After a year of rampant speculation as to who may star as Reed Richards in the MCU’s upcoming Fantastic Four, it seems Marvel Studios is in talks with Pedro Pascal to star as the stretchy Mr. Fantastic. THR point to scheduling as a major factor in whether the deal will be finalised.

It would certainly be a good casting move for Marvel, as the MCU seeks to move beyond its Endgame cast of characters and find new heroes (and faces) to anchor the ever-growing franchise. Pedro Pascal is very much the man of the moment, starring in The Last of Us and Disney+’s The Mandalorian, as well as previous roles in DC’s Wonder Woman 1984 and Kingsman: The Golden Circle. He is also due to return to the set of Ridley Scott’s Gladiator sequel now that the actors strike has ended.

Reed Richards was previously played by Ioan Gruffudd in two mid-2000s movies, while Miles Teller stepped into the role for the semi-disastrous 2015 reboot. John Krasinski played a version of Reed in the MCU in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

The other three key roles in Fantastic Four, The Invisible Woman/Sue Storm, The Human Torch/Johnny Storm, and The Thing/Ben Grimm are yet to be cast. WandaVision director Matt Shakman is helming the film, from a script by Jeff Kaplan and Ian Springer. Josh Friedman (Avatar: The Way of Water) is working on the latest version of the screenplay.

Fantastic Four is due to release on May 2nd, 2025.