Marvel Studios might have found its next leading man in a very familiar face: Pedro Pascal has reportedly joined Fantastic Four as Reed Richards.
/Film and Deadline report that Pascal—best known for his turns in genre fare like Game of Thrones, The Mandalorian, and most recently The Last of Us—is close to signing on to play Mr. Fantastic in Marvel’s cinematic universe. A source with an understanding of the project also confirmed Pascal’s involvement with io9. We’ve has also reached out to Disney for comment on the purported casting, and will update this post if and when we hear back.
Until that happens though, this is not 100% confirmed. Deadline’s reporting notes that Pascal’s schedule with future seasons of The Mandalorian and The Last of Us, as well as production of Gladiator 2, is still being worked out, but that “ it’s headed in the right direction for Pascal to do this and his other future projects.” No other casting for the remaining members of the comic book team—one of Marvel’s most legendary groups, often dubbed the “First Family” of the publisher—has been detailed yet.
Richards, the experimental scientist and husband of Sue Storm, is the brain behind the fateful space mission that sees himself, Sue, her brother Johnny, and his best friend Ben Grimm saturated with cosmic radiation, granting them otherworldly superpowers—and turning Richards into the elongating hero Mr. Fantastic, the figurehead of the Fantastic Four.
The character previously made a brief appearance in the MCU during the events of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. A version of the character from an alternate reality, there Richards was played by John Krasinski—a long-fancast actor for the role—and met an untimely end at the hands of the Scarlet Witch.
Fantastic Four is set to spearhead Marvel’s plans for the sixth phase of its cinematic universe, and is currently expected to release some time after 2025. The studio, in the wake of the conclusion of the SAG-AFTRA strike, recently delayed both Captain America: Brave New World and Blade into 2025.
We’ll bring you more on Marvel’s plans for Fantasic Four when we learn them.
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
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