Marvel Studios recently revealed which of the four main actors from The Fantastic Four: First Steps was cast first, and it is definitely not who fans would expect it to be. After many years of fans begging for an MCU version of The Fantastic Four, Marvel Studios finally granted those wishes when they announced that a Fantastic Four film would be coming to the franchise. Following the movie going into development, it was announced that Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach would be playing Marvel's first family.
According to Marvel Studios, Ebon Moss-Bachrach was the first actor of the four main family members to be cast in The Fantastic Four: First Steps. That revelation comes as a bit of a shock, since it was previously assumed that one of the other main actors was the first to be cast.
In an interview with Empire Magazine, Fantastic Four: First Steps director Matt Shakman revealed that Ebon Moss-Bachrach was the first family member to be cast, while Pedro Pascal was the last. Moss-Bachrach is playing The Thing, so Marvel Studios found the team's muscle before anything else.
In a previous report about The Fantastic Four that came out before the official cast was announced, it was said that Sue Storm would be the first member of Marvel's first family to be cast, so it was a bit of a surprise to learn that Moss-Bachrach turned out to be the first.
It is worth noting that, in the interview, Shakman also provided some details regarding Pascal's casting.
According to Shakman, he was "looking for an actor who could contain multitudes," which Pascal "could do:"
"I was looking for an actor who could contain multitudes," he says. "There's the very cerebral Reed Richards, and then there's the action hero, the leader, the husband, the father, the friend. I knew Pedro could do all of that."
Pascal himself opened up more about his casting and how he fit the bill for Reed Richards. Specifically, the actor revealed that Pascal "loved thinking about how lonely" playing Reed would be:
"(I) loved thinking about how lonely that would be. He does the ultimate version of catastrophising - a brain that has an overview of threats on a mathematical level, but also being emotionally available. It was a fascinating contradiction. (I was interested in not only who I was playing) but who I was playing with."
The Fantastic Four: First Steps will also star Julia Garner as a female version of The Silver Surfer and Ralph Ineson as Galactus. The film will be released in theaters on July 25, 2025.
Why Was Sue Storm Not Cast First?
After the report came out that Sue Storm would be the first member of the Fantastic Four to be cast, many expected that Marvel Studios had found someone for the role. So, it came as a bit of a surprise that she ended up not being the first one.
It is possible that Marvel Studios had an actress in mind to play Sue Storm, and that it fell through. It is also possible that Kirby and another actress (or actresses) were in contention for the role, which caused Marvel Studios to take a bit more time deciding who should play the character.
However, one of the most telling parts of Shakman's quotes is that Moss-Bachrach was the first to be cast. That shows that the actor clearly displayed something Marvel Studios was impressed with, which should make fans even more hopeful that he will be the perfect fit for the role.
