MCU fans haven’t seen a proper Avengers team-up since Avengers: Endgame brought the first 10-year arc to a close, though we do have a New Avengers team in the mix now, thanks to Thunderbolts. The question remains when we’ll actually get a reformation of Marvel’s premiere team in this next chapter of the universe, and while we are still waiting for an answer on that, we now know who the person leading that eventual Avengers team will be, and it’s likely not who you’re expecting.
Videos by ComicBook.com
With Captain America: Brave New World and Thunderbolts now in the rearview mirror, the attention shifts to Fantastic Four: First Steps as the next big movement forward for the MCU. Director Matt Shakman has been opening up a bit on what fueled this version of the Fantastic Four, and during an interview with Variety, Shakman revealed that a consideration in casting Pedro Pascal was the role’s evolution from scientist and husband to father and leader of the Avengers.
Shakman revealed that Reed Richards was the most challenging role to cast due in part to that substantial arc in his character. “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,” Shakman said. “I realized that the version we were building had to have all of those elements.”
A New Leader in Charge
There have been a few characters since Endgame that seemed like locks for the role of Avengers leader moving forward, including names like Captain America (Sam Wilson) and Captain Marvel, and at one point, even Doctor Strange seemed possible. As time has moved on though, Wilson seemed like the most likely candidate to lead an Avengers team, but if we are moving to a Reed Richards-led team, that shakes things up significantly.
Reed has been a part of groups like the Illuminati in the past, but he’s rarely been a part of the main Avengers team, as the focus has mostly been on his family and the Fantastic Four as a group. While Reed has worked with the Avengers countless times, having him not only be a fixture of the team but actually lead it would mark a major departure for the character from the comics to the screen, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
Pascal’s casting speaks to wanting someone who can handle the weight of a role like that and still bring you into the smaller character moments along the way, and if Fantastic Four can showcase that, it’s not a huge leap to see Reed taking a more direct role with the team. If they get the family aspect right as well, you could see several characters like Sam and Carol growing to trust him rather quickly.
While the super heroics are important, Shakman makes it clear that for Reed and Sue, it’s family first. “They are parents first,” Shakman said. “They are scientists and explorers second. And they’re superheroes only when they have to be. I come at this as a dad and as a husband. That’s what makes it so special to me.”
While Pascal didn’t address the Avengers aspect of his new role, he did say that being able to team up with Shakman on a project like this felt “fated in the stars. “We had the same talent manager at the beginning of our careers,” Pascal said. “We even almost became roommates. Matt has always been a theater animal and would include me in various things he was assembling in the theater community in Los Angeles. Coming together for ‘Fantastic Four’ felt absolutely fated in the stars.”
What do you think of Reed Richards possibly being the leader of the Avengers? Let us know in the comments, and you can talk all things Marvel and movies with me on Bluesky @knightofoa!
Most Viewed
-
Image courtesy of Netflix -
Image courtesy of Marvel
