Pedro Pascal responds to backlash over ‘Fantastic Four: First Steps’ casting: ‘The outside will find you no matter how much you protect yourself’

Pedro Pascal’s fan base has grown exponentially since the release of The Last of Us, a series adaptation based on a popular video game. A fan-coined term “internet’s daddy” became associated with him, a nod to his charismatic presence paired seamlessly with his mature appeal.

Pascal is gearing up for the release of his new film Fantastic Four: First Steps, where he will don the character of Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic. At 50, he is the oldest character to do so. But not all are appreciative of his casting, with many criticising his age as not fit for the role.

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During a London-based Fantastic Four fan event, Pascal responded to the hate. “I think that sometimes the outside will find you no matter how much you try to protect yourself from it, and it just comes with the territory,” the actor told AP. “I think maybe my nerves were bigger than they usually are, and so I think I just was a little bit more sensitive to the love that people have for stories like this because I know that they wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for the love that people have for these characters.”

Prior to Pascal, Ioan Gruffudd played Reed Richards in the 2005 and 2007 Fantastic Four films, followed by Miles Teller in the low-rated 2015 reboot. John Krasinski briefly appeared as an alternate version of Reed from another timeline in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022).

Helmed by Matt Shakman, Fantastic Four: First Steps also features Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Joseph Quinn, Julia Garner, and Natasha Lyonne.

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