Fantastic Four star Pedro Pascal shared a new behind-the-scenes (BTS) photo live from the set of Avengers: Doomsday. After making his MCU debut later this summer in The Fantastic Four: First Steps as Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic, Pascal has already locked in his next appearance in Marvel Studios' super-powered franchise, joining his Fantastic Four teammates in the upcoming Avengers team-up.
Fans are giddy as Mr. Fantastic actor Pedro Pascal dropped a new image from what seems to be the Avengers: Doomsday set, potentially teasing a new costume for his MCU hero. This is the first update from The Mandalorian star confirming that he is now actively in production on the Russo Brothers' next Avengers film and could get an aesthetic upgrade typical of these kinds of movies.
The image itself was posted on Pascal's personal Instagram account, showing off a close-up of Anne Carson's The Gender of Sounds book he looks to be reading during his downtime on the movie, as well as a scant glance at a bright powder blue pant left in the background.
Many have assumed this blue leg to be the first glance at a new Fantastic Four costume for Pascal's Reed Richards, set to debut in the new movie.
Looking closely at the leg being shown, it looks to be a slightly different blue from that of the Fantastic Four: First Steps costume. It is also made of a more skin-tight, almost wet suit material as opposed to the canvas bottom, knit top look of the character's upcoming MCU debut.
There seems to be no connection between the book Pascal is reading (a philosophy text about Western culture's gendering of sound) and Avengers: Doomsday.
Pedro Pascal joins a stacked cast of Marvel heroes in Avengers: Doomsday, set to star alongside big names like Chris Hemsworth, Patrick Stewart, and Hayley Atwell. Doomsday is set to hit theaters on May 1, 2026, and will be directed by Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame filmmakers The Russo Brothers.
The film will also see Robert Downey Jr.'s return to the MCU, although this time, he will be playing a villain rather than his typical armor-clad hero. Downey takes on the role of Doctor Doom, as he draws the eyes of the Avengers from across the Multiverse after pitting various realities against one another.
Why Pedro Pascal Is One of Avengers: Doomsday's Most Important Actors
If this image does reveal that Pedro Pascal's Mr. Fantastic will be getting a new costume in Avengers: Doomsday, it would make sense, given how big a role his character is supposedly set to play in the movie.
In the same way that the Guardians of the Galaxy were among the most significant new additions to the last batch of Avengers movies, Reed Richards and the Fantastic Four will be that for Doomsday and Secret Wars.
Marvel's First Family has never appeared in an Avengers movie. In fact, the team has never even popped up in an MCU movie and will not until this summer's Fantastic Four: First Steps.
This is significant as they are some of the most important characters in the Marvel Comics canon do not yet have a presence in a Marvel Studios franchise.
Some have even speculated that their emergence in Doomsday could change the very hierarchy of the MCU. With Tony Stark's death at the end of Avengers: Endgame and Chris Evans' Captain America taking a step back, the Marvel Studios brand has been looking to fill a Steve and Tony-sized hole at the head of the Avengers table.
Someone like Reed Richards feels like the perfect fit to step into those shoes and become the new father figure of the MCU for the next decade of franchise storytelling.
That is why his role (along with the rest of the Fantastic Four) in Doomsday will be key, as one would assume he takes the baton from the franchise figureheads that came before him.
