A new interview may have teased a Fantastic Four split in Avengers: Doomsday. Marvel's First Family (made up of Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Johnny Storm, and Ben Grimm) will make their MCU debut in just a couple of weeks in The Fantastic Four: First Steps; however, they have already had their next franchise appearance confirmed as part of the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday film. According to Marvel, the Fantastic Four will "play a key role" in the new team-up film, but what that means remains to be seen.
The new film from Avengers: Endgame filmmakers Joe and Anthony Russo will see the Fantastic Four joining forces with several other super-powered teams, including the Thunderbolts, Avengers, and the classic Fox X-Men, to take on Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom. That does not necessarily mean every one of these characters will come face-to-face with Downey's masked hero, though.
Speaking with SensaCine Latinoamérica as part of a new interview, Fantastic Four stars Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Pedro Pascal may have teased that their super-powered team will be split up in Avengers: Doomsday.
In that conversation, the Ben Grimm and Reed Richards actor went back and forth about talents they couldn't wait to play opposite in the MCU.
That is when Moss-Bachrach brings up the idea of Robert Downey Jr., calling the Doctor Doom actor "brilliant" and "one of [his favorites]." However, Pascal quickly jumped off of that, noting that his fellow Fantastic Four co-star "[doesn't] have any scenes with [Downey]:"
Moss-Bachrach: "I was so excited to work with Robert Downey Jr. I have loved him for so long. He is one of my favorite actors. What a brilliant actor. So, come at me."
Pascal: "To bad you don't have any scenes with him."
Moss-Bachrach: "Or do I?"
Given the snide manner in which Pascal presents his jab at his First Steps co-star, one can assume Pascal does share several scenes with Downey's Doctor Doom in the upcoming film, poking fun at the Thing actor for not getting to do the same.
This potentially indicates that the Fantastic Four will be split up at some point in the new movie, forced to divide and conquer like other MCU teams have done in past Avengers films (think Guardians of the Galaxy in Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame).
Both Pascal and Moss-Bachrach will make their MCU debut as Reed Richards and Ben Grimm alongside their Fantastic Four teammates, Sue and Johnny Storm (played by Vanessa Kirby and Joseph Quinn), in the upcoming Fantastic Four: First Steps, due out in theaters on Friday, July 25. After that, the team will join forces with storied names from the MCU and legacy actors from Fox's former X-Men franchise in Avengers: Doomsday—coming to theaters on December 18, 2026.
What Will the Fantastic Four's Role In Doomday Be?
As has been the case with every MCU team-up movie to date, every character will have a specific role to play (whether that means facing the movie's big bad or not).
That very well could mean the Fantastic Four will be forced to split in two, with one group going up against Doctor Doom while the other is left to accomplish another (just as important) task.
Rumors have suggested that the crux of Doomsday will involve Doctor Doom kidnapping the newborn Franklin Richards from the Fantastic Four's home universe, forcing the team to traverse the Multiverse and team up with the Avengers of Earth 616.
This, paired with the rumored reintroduction of Loki's TVA and Tom Hiddleston's Loki holding together the Sacred Timeline (something Doom is actively turning his nose up at), could mean that the battle must be fought on two fronts.
One would see some of the Fantastic Four team take a few Avengers to save Franklin from Doom, and the other would see them heading to the TVA to make sure the very fabric of reality does not fall apart in the process.
If this were to happen, one group would likely come to blows with Doom, while the other would not. And it can be assumed, based on these comments from Pedro Pascal and Ebon Moss-Bachrach, that The Thing is a part of the latter rather than the former.
