Pedro Pascal's Reed Richards, aka Mister Fantastic, is destined for greatness—or disaster—in The Fantastic Four: First Steps. With Pascal stepping into the stretchy shoes of Marvel's smartest man, one can't help but wonder: What cracks will show in the armor of his intellect? Turns out, according to Pascal himself, they might be bigger than expected.
In a recent interview with Kino, Pascal waded into Reed's Achilles' heel: “When your mind is always focused on the greater good, you can miss a lot of little details. Knowing those details is very important to keeping the family together.” It's a slippery slope for a character who juggles world-saving ambitions with personal responsibilities. As Matt Shakman—director of First Steps—noted earlier this month, Reed is “part Steve Jobs and part Oppenheimer,” walking the tightrope of being a visionary genius and a potential catastrophe.
This delicate balancing act is deeply rooted in the DNA of both the character and the franchise. In the comics, Reed is that maddening paradox: hyper-intelligent yet dangerously flawed. From creating interdimensional prisons in Civil War to stretching family bonds thinner than his elastic powers, his lapses in judgment have often led to messy, sometimes tragic outcomes. His intentions are noble, yes—but as Pascal implies, they come at a cost.
And hasn't film history proven the complexity of Reed Richards? The character's cinematic legacy showcases different shades of his fallibility. Ioan Gruffudd's Reed in the mid-2000s brought a family-friendly, slightly awkward charm that skirted around his darker impulses. Miles Teller's 2015 reboot aimed for a grittier vibe but got lost in muddy storytelling. Then there's John Krasinski's brief but brutal turn in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, showing a Reed undone by overconfidence. Pascal's take seems to dig deeper into Reed's humanity—a man so consumed with solving the big problems of the universe that he risks unraveling the threads of his own family.
This framing also ties perfectly to Marvel's broader narrative tapestry. While Pascal's Reed operates outside Earth-616—hinting at multiverse entanglements to come—it's clear his story isn't isolated. Shakman has teased that Reed's path will merge with those of MCU heavyweights in Avengers: Doomsday. Considering the multiverse madness and moral dilemmas brewing in the MCU, Mister Fantastic's flawed brilliance could become both a catalyst and a cautionary tale.
For Pascal, who has already proven his ability to infuse humanity into larger-than-life characters (see: Din Djarin in The Mandalorian, Joel in The Last of Us), Reed Richards feels like a natural evolution. Pascal's comment about “missing the little details” feels personal—a connection between actor and character that might elevate Mister Fantastic into one of the MCU's most compelling heroes.
So, what can we expect? A leader who stretches himself too thin, a genius with blind spots, a hero who may cause as many problems as he solves. And isn't that what makes Reed Richards so fascinating? His struggle isn't just with villains; it's with himself.
Marvel fans will see these threads come together when The Fantastic Four: First Steps hits U.S. theaters on July 25, 2025. Expect complications—personal, professional, and interdimensional.
