{"id":83621,"date":"2025-07-01T10:43:07","date_gmt":"2025-07-01T14:43:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/?p=83621"},"modified":"2025-07-31T10:44:19","modified_gmt":"2025-07-31T14:44:19","slug":"pedro-pascal-addresses-fan-backlash-over-his-casting-in-marvels-the-fantastic-four-first-steps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/pedro-pascal-addresses-fan-backlash-over-his-casting-in-marvels-the-fantastic-four-first-steps\/83621\/","title":{"rendered":"Pedro Pascal addresses fan backlash over his casting in Marvel\u2019s The Fantastic Four: First Steps"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pedro Pascal has finally broken his silence about the backlash he\u2019s faced since being cast as Reed Richards, also known as Mister Fantastic, in The Fantastic Four: First Steps<\/em>. Best known for his work in The Mandalorian<\/em> and The Last of Us<\/em>, Pascal\u2019s casting sparked a lot of chatter online\u2014some fans were thrilled, but others weren\u2019t so convinced. The biggest complaints? That he\u2019s too old for the role, doesn\u2019t look the part, and should probably shave.<\/p>\n

In a recent interview with Vanity Fair<\/em>, Pascal didn\u2019t shy away from addressing the negativity. He admitted that this is the most pushback he\u2019s ever gotten for a role. He said he\u2019s heard it all: too old, wrong choice, needs a new look. But instead of getting defensive, he stayed honest and open about how it feels to be under that kind of scrutiny. Even though he hasn\u2019t seen the final cut of the movie yet, he said he\u2019s starting to feel excited about what they\u2019ve created. He talked about how everyone involved poured their hearts into it and how, in the end, you never know if people are going to accept that or just reject it.<\/p>\n

The reaction online has been a real mix. Some people are backing Pascal fully, happy to see him in such a major Marvel role. But others are still questioning whether he\u2019s the right fit for Reed Richards, who\u2019s known as one of the smartest and most iconic characters in the Marvel universe. The biggest criticisms seem to revolve around his age and appearance\u2014not the performance itself, since nobody\u2019s seen the full movie yet. It\u2019s a situation that\u2019s familiar in superhero movie casting, and Pascal isn\u2019t the first actor to face this kind of skepticism.<\/p>\n

Pascal also shared that making the jump into the Marvel Cinematic Universe hasn\u2019t been easy. But he\u2019s had help from someone who knows exactly what that\u2019s like\u2014Robert Downey Jr. He said Downey was incredibly supportive and gave him the space to be vulnerable and unsure, which helped a lot in adjusting to such a massive franchise.<\/p>\n

Pascal talked a bit about how he\u2019s approaching the character, too. In a past interview, he explained that while Reed Richards has the power to stretch his body, what really defines him is his mind. He even used the idea of an octopus\u2014not literally, but in terms of brilliance and adaptability\u2014as a way to shape how he plays the role. It\u2019s a thoughtful, almost abstract way of getting into character that shows he\u2019s putting a lot of care into it.<\/p>\n

Casting backlash isn\u2019t new in the superhero world. It happens almost every time a beloved character is recast. Think about when Robert Pattinson was picked to play Batman or even when Ben Affleck took on the role. Both actors were heavily criticized at first, but eventually won over audiences once the films came out. Marvel is no stranger to this kind of fan response either. It tends to come with the territory, especially when the character is someone fans feel deeply attached to.<\/p>\n

The Fantastic Four: First Steps<\/em> is a big deal because it\u2019s the first time this superhero team is appearing in the official Marvel Cinematic Universe after Disney bought 20th Century Fox. The film is directed by Matt Shakman and produced by Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige. Alongside Pascal, the movie stars Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm, Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm. Ralph Ineson will play the cosmic villain Galactus, while Julia Garner takes on the role of the Silver Surfer.<\/p>\n

The movie is set to hit theaters on July 25. And fans won\u2019t have to wait too long to see more of Pascal\u2019s Reed Richards, since the Fantastic Four will return in Avengers: Doomsday<\/em>. Despite the rocky start with fans, Pascal seems locked in and ready to give the role everything he\u2019s got. His response shows that he understands the pressure, but he\u2019s focused on delivering a version of Reed Richards that feels honest and true to the character in his own way.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Pedro Pascal has finally broken his silence about the backlash he\u2019s faced since being cast as Reed Richards, also known\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":294,"featured_media":83622,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[4459],"class_list":["post-83621","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-celebrity-news","tag-pedro-pascal"],"reading_time":"4 min read","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83621","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/294"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=83621"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83621\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/83622"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=83621"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=83621"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=83621"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}