A Fantastic Four Star’s Avengers: Doomsday Role Won’t Be As Big as Fans Thought

This post contains spoilers for The Fantastic Four: First Steps

The Fantastic Four: First Steps introduces a quartet of characters who will play roles throughout the rest of the Multiverse Saga, but at least one of them may not get as much screen time as expected in Avengers: Doomsday. Now that First Steps is out, Variety zoomed out to take a look at where things stand in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Included in the report is a detail about how Pedro Pascal’s Reed Richards will factor into Doomsday. While it’s said that Mister Fantastic has an “integral role” in Doomsday, it’s also mentioned that “Pascal is not the centerpiece” of the movie.

Pascal’s First Steps co-stars, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach, are not mentioned in the report, leaving the sizes of their respective roles in Doomsday a mystery. The specifics about Pascal’s involvement were mentioned in a section covering Marvel’s casting strategies and actor salaries, which included a claim stating Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Hemsworth “won’t be working at a discount” on Doomsday.

Kicking off Phase 6, The Fantastic Four: First Steps tells a largely self-contained story but still provides some setup for Avengers: Doomsday. Most notably, the film’s post-credits scene quickly establishes high stakes for the Fantastic Four moving forward, as Doctor Doom is seen taking great interest in young Franklin Richards — Reed and Sue Storm’s son who has already demonstrated signs of incredible power.

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While Doomsday serves as the continuation of the Fantastic Four’s arc in the MCU, Marvel’s First Family is just one of many superhero teams that will be featured. Doomsday is also set to include the New Avengers, Sam Wilson’s separate Avengers team, and a version of the X-Men played by actors from the Fox films. Kevin Feige has hinted that there are even more Doomsday casting announcements to be made at a later date, adding to what is already a very large ensemble.

The First Steps post-credits scene is very brief, but one reading of it is that it could serve as an inciting incident in Doomsday, with Doctor Doom kidnapping Franklin, sending the Fantastic Four on a journey that takes them to Earth-616. If Franklin is going to factor into Doom’s plot to control the multiverse, it would have been plausible to expect someone like Reed Richards to be front and center in the story, doing whatever it takes to rescue his son. So, it might come as a surprise to hear Reed isn’t “the centerpiece” in Doomsday. However, it’s worth keeping in mind that he (and presumably the other members of the Fantastic Four) still have key roles to play. They may not be the primary focus, but they’ll still have an impactful part when it’s all said and done.

Given the sprawling nature of the Doomsday cast, it’s very difficult to tell who will be the centerpiece. This isn’t like Avengers: Endgame, which clearly revolved around the original six Avengers as they worked alongside a handful of allies to reverse Thanos’ snap. Marvel hasn’t had an established Avengers roster since, so anyone could be the centerpiece. Some actors aren’t sure if they’re done shooting their scenes or not because the script is still being worked on. Perhaps Doomsday will be more of an ensemble piece than previous Avengers movies since there will be so many characters to service. Because the MCU has been without a go-to Avengers roster for years, Doomsday can split time evenly between each group, giving all of them equal billing. Some characters will take precedence over others, of course, but there’s no reason why Reed and family can’t share the spotlight.