Marvel

Pedro Pascal reveals the "biggest character secret" of playing Reed Richards in 'The Fantastic Four: First Steps'

By Sophia Soto | Last updated Apr 20, 2025 12:40 PM ET

While at the Star Wars Celebration event in Tokyo, The Fantastic Four: First Steps star Pedro Pascal opened up to ComicBook about his approach to playing Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic.

"I guess I’ll just give it completely away. I thought of the brilliance of an octopus," the actor explained. "Not in any literal physical translated way, but I put it into my subconscious. Yeah. That’s the biggest character secret reveal that I’ve given to you."

When discussing the physical challenges of the role, he shared, "That, for me, was a brand new kind of experience to author something that is very, very familiar to the world, has previous authorship, a very specific understanding of the pages of the comics, and different evolutions and stuff like that. And then something that is so independent in its identity as far as our version is concerned. To me, you know, his body may stretch, but this is a brain character, and it’s really his mind that was the most important to me."

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A post shared by Pedro Pascal he/him (@pascalispunk)

The movie is directed by Matt Shakman and also stars Paul Walter Hauser, John Malkovich, Natasha Lyonne, and Sarah Niles.

Set against the vibrant backdrop of a 1960s-inspired,
retro-futuristic world, Marvel Studios’ “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” introduces Marvel’s First Family—Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic (Pedro Pascal), Sue Storm/Invisible Woman (Vanessa Kirby), Johnny Storm/Human Torch (Joseph Quinn) and Ben Grimm/The Thing (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) as they face their most daunting challenge yet. Forced to balance their roles as heroes with the strength of their family bond, they must defend Earth from a ravenous space god called Galactus (Ralph Ineson) and his enigmatic Herald, Silver Surfer (Julia Garner). And if Galactus’ plan to devour the entire planet and everyone on it weren’t bad enough, it suddenly gets very personal.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps will be released in theaters on July 25.

It has already been confirmed that Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and Joseph Quinn will all reprise their roles for Avengers: Doomsday, set to be released in theaters in May 2026.

Sophia Soto

Sophia Soto is a writer and interviewer with a passion for all things entertainment. She is a Senior Reporter at The Nerds of Color and contributes to Yardbarker, Screensphere, Den of Geek, What to Watch, Nerdtropolis, and Temple of Geek. You can see her past work on Remezcla, Young Hollywood, Looper, Paste Magazine, Primetimer, Soundsphere, and Starry Constellation Magazine

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