'Fantastic Four' director reveals reason of casting Pedro Pascal as 'Reed Richards'

The Last of Us star Pedro Pascal will be performing the role of Reed Richards for the first time in the upcoming The Fantastic Four: First Steps.

Prior to Pedro, John Krasinski played the titular role in the 2022 Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

But for the forthcoming 2025 MCU film, the makers replaced John with the 50-year-old Chilean American actor.

Director Matt Shakman has finally explained why he decided to cast a new actor specifically Pascal for the comic book character.

According to Shakman, Richards is a kind of character that holds multiple responsibilities and hence, he wanted an actor, who contained varieties.

In conversation with Empire, the filmmaker added, "I was looking for an actor who could contain multitudes.”

“There’s the very cerebral Reed Richards, and then there’s the action hero, the leader, the husband, the father, the friend. I knew Pedro could do all of that.”

Meanwhile, the Narcos actor also unveiled the reason he took up the role without any hesitation.

He said, "I see a limitless amount of layers to this character. He does the ultimate version of catastrophising.”

“A brain that has an overview of threats on a mathematical level, but also being emotionally available. It was a fascinating contradiction”, explained Pedro.

Backed by Walt Disney, the new Fantastic Four film is set to release on July 25.