Pedro Pascal may have led The Fantastic Four as Reed Richards / Mr. Fantastic, but The Last of Us star denies the claims he will lead the Avengers in the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday.
The new Fantastic Four movie director Matt Shakman quickly went viral after claiming that the nerdy scientist could soon become the one to lead the Avengers.
Now that Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) has retired and Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) has died, could Reed Richards be the new leader of the team?
Will Pedro Pascal’s Reed Richards Lead the Avengers?
Pascal, alongside his Fantastic Four co-stars Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach, will return to reprise their roles in Avengers: Doomsday.
As Reed now plays a major role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe—thanks to his remarkable intelligence and ability to tackle threats from both their own universe and across the multiverse—director Matt Shakman told Variety that he was the hardest character to cast.
“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,” he said. “I realized that the version we were building had to have all of those elements.”
As expected, his statement gained traction and even became the talk of the town. However, Pascal found it misleading and clarified that this might not be his character’s future.
“It’s big news to me, that’s for one,” he told Associated Press. “I think Matt Shakman was doing an interview and when he was speaking about Reed… there is something that happens in the comics where he is sort of drawn in by the Avengers family and asked to be put into a leadership position.”
The Mandalorian star added that Shakman’s version referred to something that happens in the comics.
“It isn’t necessarily something that my character’s future entails,” he continued.
And knowing Pascal is famous for his directness in interviews, he stressed that he wasn’t lying or event trying to avoid spoilers.
“I am being honest in that. I am not even trying to avoid spoilers,” he added. “It’s a little bit of a mislead.”
Can Reed Richards Lead the Avengers?
Sure, Richards has led the Avengers in some Marvel comic storylines, but the same can’t be said for the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).
Other major MCU storylines and upcoming Avengers lineups position Sam Wilson and Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) as leaders of their own respective teams. That said, there may be little chance of Reed ascending to a leadership role.
It’s also worth noting that Sam took on the mantle after Steve Rogers retired. The original Captain America was the Avengers’ primary leader, with Iron Man playing a crucial role in the team’s formation and strategic direction.
In the recently released Captain America: Brave New World, Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford) challenges Sam to rebuild the Avengers.
So, as the new Captain America, it’s heavily implied that Sam will lead the next iteration of the Avengers and not Reeds.
Shakman himself also denied that Reed would leading the Avengers, telling Bustle (via Inverse) that he “didn’t actually say that.”
“I saw the internet said I said that," he said. “What I said, and just to clarify, was that he's a really complex character in the comics. That he ranges from being this amazing scientist to being this leader who goes out and saves the day to being this family member, and I needed an actor who could encompass all three things. So unfortunately, a lot of that was taken out of context.”
The Fantastic Four: First Steps is now in theaters, while Avengers: Doomsday is set to release on December 18, 2026.
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