I guess I should tackle this. It’s been almost two months since news came that Pedro Pascal was in negotiations to play Reed Richards in the “Fantastic Four” at Marvel Studios.
Marvel itself, however, has yet to confirm the casting – or any casting on the film – even as the film is supposed to be shot later this year. Now, it appears SAG-AFTRA has accidentally confirmed Pascal in “Fantastic Four.”
This morning, a posting on the SAG-AFTRA Foundation website seemed to confirm that Pascal had signed on to play Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic in the film. It’s since been adjusted and any mention of ‘Fantastic Four’ has been scrubbed.
Jake Gylenhaal and Adam Driver were said to have had talks to play Richards, before Pascal finally settled in as the frontrunner. If Pascal is indeed playing Richards, then he’s cleared up his very busy schedule to be a part of the movie.
Pascal is a very busy man. He’s already shot “Gladiator 2,” currently in the middle of “The Last of Us” season 2, has a supporting role in Ari Aster’s “Eddington,” and is shooting Celine Song’s “Materialists” this Spring. Last month, he had to drop out of Zach Cregger’s “Weapons” because of this wild schedule.
Marvel’s ‘Fantastic Four’ was supposed to start shooting next January. It’s since been delayed due to the strike. It does still plan to start production sometime in 2024. A May 2025 is set for the movie. This is the big MCU reboot that Marvel fans have been anticipating. It remains to be seen if it’ll be a successful one.
There’s been an inordinate amount of rumors as to who has been cast in the reboot. Pascal is the only one who seems to be almost of a sure thing. Other actors heavily rumored include Anya Taylor-Joy (Silver Surfer), Ebon Moss-Bachrach (Ben Grimm), Vanessa Kirby (Sue Storm) and Joseph Quinn (Johnny Storm).
Director Matt Shakman is attached to this F4 relaunch. He produced and directed Disney’s “WandaVision” and has directed episodes of “The Great”, “It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia”, “Fargo” and “Game of Thrones”. Basically, he’s the perfect candidate to be controlled by the Marvel machine.