Pedro Pascal is stepping into the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) with The Fantastic Four: First Steps. Best known for his roles in other major franchises like Game of Thrones, Wonder Woman, The Last of Us and Star Wars, the 50-year-old actor has finally broken his silence about being criticised for his role as Mister Fantastic aka Reed Richards. He shared that he was aware that some Marvel fans were not happy with his casting in the upcoming film.
鈥淚鈥檓 more aware of disgruntlement around my casting than anything I鈥檝e ever done,鈥 Pedro told Vanity Fair, admitting that he faced his own share of challenges as he entered the MCU. People on the internet commented things like 鈥淗e鈥檚 too old,鈥 鈥淗e鈥檚 not right,鈥 and 鈥淗e needs to shave,鈥 but he did not let these things affect him. Instead, he sought help and guidance from his fellow Marvel star and friend Robert Downey Jr. As per Pedro, RDJ is 鈥渏ust so immediately generous and inviting that you feel like you can be afraid, you can be hungry, you can be ambivalent.鈥
Despite all the noise surrounding his casting in Fantastic Four, Pedro is excited for the film even though he has not watched the finished version yet. 鈥淚鈥檓 getting an inkling of excitement because it seems to reflect what our common goal was, and what we want to share, which is all of our f鈥攇 hearts on a platter within this genre,鈥 he said, adding, 鈥淵ou just never know if people are going to be disgusted by your heart or not.鈥
Directed by Matt Shakman and produced by Kevin Feige, The Fantastic Four: First Steps will be the first time that the Fantastic Four will officially join the MCU after Disney鈥檚 takeover of 20th Century Fox and its assets, including X-Men. In the upcoming movie, the Fantastic Four will go up against the villain Galactus. In April, Marvel released the full-length trailer of the film, which introduced Julia Garner鈥檚 version of the Silver Surfer and gave fans a glimpse into what to expect from the superhero film.
Set to release in theatres on July 25, the film also features Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm / Invisible Woman, Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm / The Thing, Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm / Human Torch, Ralph Ineson as Galactus, and Julia Garner as Shalla-Bal / Silver Surfer.