Pedro Pascal has clarified recent speculation surrounding Avengers: Doomsday, following a wave of online chatter sparked by comments from The Fantastic Four: First Steps director Matt Shakman that he would be the leader of the team.
In an interview with Variety, Shakman praised Pascal’s portrayal of Reed Richards, calling him “the nerdy scientist… the husband and the father… the guy who’s leading the Avengers.” That last phrase set off a storm of fan interpretations, with many assuming it meant Reed Richards would officially take up the mantle as leader of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes in the next Avengers installment.
Not so fast.
A Different Kind of Fantastic Four
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Pascal pushed back on the assumptions.
“Matt was talking about a Reed Richards that, within the comics of the Avengers, the Fantastic Four are brought into the Avengers and Reed is commissioned to lead a mission, but that is different than what we’re doing,” Pascal said. “So I think what Matt has said about Reed and the comic has been taken out of context.”
Pedro Pascal at Star Wars Celebration – YouTube, Star Wars
The Fantastic Four: First Steps introduces a version of Marvel’s First Family who operate in an alternate reality where the Avengers don’t exist. Pascal stars alongside Vanessa Kirby (Sue Storm), Joseph Quinn (Johnny Storm), and Ebon Moss-Bachrach (Ben Grimm). The group faces down cosmic threats with no backup, as Galactus (Ralph Ineson) looms and his herald, the Silver Surfer (Julia Garner), arrives on Earth.
Though this version of Reed isn’t leader of the Avengers, the character—the version portrayed by Pedro Pascal—will still feature prominently in Avengers: Doomsday. The upcoming crossover will unite the newly introduced Fantastic Four with the broader Marvel multiverse, now pivoting toward a new central villain.
Enter Doctor Doom, for Better or Worse
Doomsday will also mark the return of Robert Downey Jr. to the MCU, not as Iron Man, but as Victor Von Doom. It’s a bold move, and one that Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige says has been in the works for some time.
Robert Downey Jr. revealed to be Doctor Doom at Marvel Studios’ Hall H presentation at San Diego Comic-Con via OnTheRedCarpet YouTube
“We had started to realize that Kang wasn’t big enough, wasn’t Thanos,” Feige recently told press. “And that there was only one character that could be that because he was that in the comics for decades and decades.”
Although the studio initially positioned Kang the Conqueror as the next overarching villain, plans shifted after legal troubles involving actor Jonathan Majors. Marvel quietly pivoted away from the Kang storyline, and according to Feige, discussions about introducing Doom began even before Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania hit theaters.
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA – JULY 27: (L-R) Louis D’Esposito, Co-President, Marvel Studios, Kevin Feige, President, Marvel Studios, Robert Downey Jr., Joe Russo and Anthony Russo attend the Marvel Studios Panel in Hall H at SDCC in San Diego, California on July 27, 2024. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney)
“In fact, I had started talking with Robert about this audacious idea before Ant-Man 3 even came out,” Feige said.
The switch signals a significant course correction for the MCU, with Doom now expected to take center stage in its next phase. Whether Reed Richards and Doom are destined for a multi-versal clash remains to be seen, but the groundwork is clearly being laid.
Pedro Pascal and Vanessa Kirby – YouTube, omeleteve
With the multiverse expanding, the Fantastic Four joining the fold, and Doom looming large, Avengers: Doomsday appears to be the next major pivot point for the MCU. And just like in First Steps, it seems Reed Richards won’t be calling the shots, after all.
Do you believe that Pedro Pascal won’t be leading the Avengers in Doomsday? Sound off in the comments and let us know!
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Wish this creep would just have whatever secrets he has exposed so he can be expelled from follywood already.
Pascal has been demoted. Punished for the F4 flop debacle.
Unless you’re a real comic nerd, you only vaguely know who Dr. Doom is. There are more recognizable heroes.
I do think it is funny they don’t seem to be worried about casting a former drug addict, drunk, and once-upon-a-time big time loser who spent time in PMITA prison as their marquee villain at the expense of a guy who was convicted of a couple of misdemeanors.
Don’t get me wrong, without RDJ we wouldn’t have had so many amazing Marvel movies all the way up to End Game. And no one will ever be able to depict Tony Stark again without being seen as a pale imitation. But…
All Fiege’s justifications aside, we know the timing of dropping Majors was too much of a coincidence for it to be a coincidence.