Pedro Pascal Breaks Silence On Criticism Over His Age In Fantastic Four

The Fantastic Four: First Steps arrives in theaters on July 25, 2025. Pedro Pascal is playing the role of Reed Richards aka Mister Fantastic in the Marvel film. Pascal, 50, faced backlash on social media over his age, as netizens felt he is too old for the role of a superhero. The actor has now addressed the age-related criticisms.

Pedro Pascal on Fantastic Four casting backlash

Speaking to AP News at a fan event in London, Pascal said, "I think that sometimes the outside will find you no matter how much you try to protect yourself from it, and it just comes with the territory."

On the fans' reactions, he said, "I think maybe my nerves were bigger than they usually are, and so I think I just was a little bit more sensitive to the love that people have for stories like this, because I know that they wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for the love that people have for these characters."

Despite the backlash, the Materialists star wants to live up to the expectations. He thinks it’s very important for him that "expectations be fulfilled."

"But I also know that the only way to do that is to give it all my focus and all my heart and my body and my soul, and so that was the best I could do," he added.

For the unversed, Pedro is the oldest one to play Reed Richards. Ioan Gruffudd, Miles Teller and John Krasinski, who played the character earlier, were 31, 28, and 42, respectively, when they starred in Fantastic Four films. Gruffudd was seen in the 2005 and 2007 Fantastic Four films, followed by Miles Teller in the 2015 reboot. Krasinski played an alternate version of Reed in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022). He had a brief appearance in the film.

Alongside Pedro, The Fantastic Four: First Steps also stars Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm, Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm. Julia Garner and Ralph Ineson are playing Silver Surfer and Galactus, respectively. It has been directed by Matt Shakman.