'Fantastic Four' Director Says Pedro Pascal’s Reed Richards Is ‘Leading the Avengers’

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When it comes to Marvel movies, it’s not uncommon for fans to know very little heading into a film’s release. Thus far, that’s stood true regarding the 2026 film Avengers: Doomsday.

While Marvel has revealed a portion of the cast, it's also been stated that the initial release was not the entire cast. However, one thing fans do know is that the Fantastic Four: First Steps stars will be in the upcoming Avengers.

There have been rumblings that the Fantastic Four will have a fairly prominent role in the movie, but nothing has been confirmed. And while the latest comments from Fantastic Four: First Steps director Matt Shakman don't go as far as confirming anything, he did make one statement that stood out during an interview with Variety.

Pedro Pascal attends the CCXP Mexico 2025 at Expo CitiBanamex.

Toya Sarno Jordan/Getty Images for Disney

Shakman explained that the role of Reed Richards, also known as Mister Fantastic, who is played by Pedro Pascal, was the toughest to cast. He detailed the challenges of finding the right person to play the role, which features many different dynamics.

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He also said that Richards goes on to become "the guy who's leading the Avengers."

“He goes from being the nerdy scientist who’s locked away in the lab, to the husband and the father who’d do anything to protect his family, to the guy who’s leading the Avengers,” Shakman says. “I realized that the version we were building had to have all of those elements.”

Shakman's comments could obviously be a way of making a point that Richards' character goes through a wide range of stages in the movie, but the comment also aligns with recent rumblings.

Therehas been speculation that theFantastic Fourwill be a core part of battling Doctor Doom, played by Robert Downey Jr. inAvengers: Doomsday. While it makes sense, it'll be interesting to see if any spoilers surface before the movie's December 18, 2026, release date.

Related: 'Superman' May Be Saving Lives in the Real World. All Thanks to Krypto the Dog

'Fantastic Four' Director Says Pedro Pascal’s Reed Richards Is ‘Leading the Avengers’ first appeared on Men's Journal on Jul 16, 2025