Today, it was finally reported that Pedro Pascal is going to play Mister Fantastic, which is one of the things I was holding. One of the reasons I was asked not to say anything is because Pascal’s schedule is… pretty packed!He’ll soon resume shooting Ridley Scott’s Gladiator sequel overseas, and he’s also due to shoot Season 2 of HBO’s The Last of Us and Zach Cregger’s epic thriller Weapons in 2024. So, it was unclear whether Pascal’s schedule would allow for a major Marvel shoot early next year, but apparently, the two recently concluded strikes have created a window in his schedule, which is being figured out this week prior to the holiday break.

With all of these release date changes and production shifts, and surely more to come — for example, will Destin Daniel Cretton’s exit from Avengers: The Kang Dynasty have a domino effect on the MCU calendar? — the schedules of in-demand actors like Pascal have become pure anarchy.

Nonetheless, I’m told there’s already Fantastic Four concept art featuring Pascal’s handsome face.

With Vanessa Kirby widely tipped to be Sue Storm (aka the Invisible Woman), who is said to be the clear lead of the film, and Joseph Quinn and Ebon Moss-Bachrach poised to play Johnny Storm (aka the Human Torch) and Ben Grimm (aka the Thing), respectively, the feeling at Marvel was that they needed a big star for Mister Fantastic.

And now, here’s the inside story of the Mister Fantastic search.

Just prior to the SAG-AFTRA strike, Marvel conducted secret screen tests for Reed Richards, just like James Gunn was doing for Superman: Legacy — rushing to get them done in time. A group of actors flew to London, including Christopher Abbott and Jamie Dornan, and I’m told the tests did not go very well.

It quickly became apparent to Marvel that they needed a bigger name. Just before the strike took effect, they went out to Jake Gyllenhaal, but he wanted too much money (as did Adam Driver early on, if I’m not mistaken). Budget has been a real issue for this Fantastic Four movie, which is why Emma Stone isn’t playing Sue Storm. She’s too expensive and Marvel’s Kevin Feige is trying to contain talent costs.

With Kirby, Quinn, and Moss-Bachrach lined up for the other three leads, Feige foresaw another issue with Gyllenhaal besides the actor’s fee.

I’m told he feared that the cast was “way too white,” in the words of one insider. Reed Richards would be the character eyed to diversify the cast.

It didn’t hurt that Pascal, who is Chilean, is hotter than both Gyllenhaal and Driver at the moment; he’s the internet’s new boyfriend who can do no wrong. So while Pascal refused to engage during the strike, his team acknowledged they would be interested in talking once it ended.

Though there was some initial concern that Pascal’s age might be an issue going forward (he’s 48 years old), neither he nor Moss-Bachrach (46) look their age. The feeling internally was that Mister Fantastic was a tricky role to cast — not just because of the demand for multiple movies, but also because Sue is the quote-unquote lead of this first film. Feige felt Pascal was a get, and it wouldn’t shock me if the studio made some accommodations for his schedule.

It stands to reason that Pascal’s participation in the MCU — and the global marketing campaign that comes with it — would only stand to benefit these other projects, such as The Last of Us and Weapons, so perhaps they’ll make accommodations of their own.

Pedro, it seems, is worth waiting for.

And now for the other name to simply keep an eye on as far as Fantastic Four goes. Last week, I was told by the same source who told me about Pedro that Oscar winner Javier Bardem is being eyed to play Galactus.

One insider I spoke to said that Bardem had a scheduling conflict, which appears to be Apple’s F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, a film I’ll write more about tomorrow. The question is whether that F1 movie will truly preclude Bardem from performing what is largely a voice role a la Josh Brolin’s Thanos, though I imagine there will be some motion-capture element involved that may require whoever plays Galactus to be on set.

I know that Antonio Banderas had previously been tipped for the role of Galactus, and perhaps it will come back to him, but for now, I believe Bardem is the frontrunner, schedule permitting… which it may not! The strike just ended, and that F1 movie is expected to be a long shoot, so we’ll see… but Marvel has a history of getting its man, with a few exceptions here and there. Then again, neither Emily Blunt nor Joaquin Phoenix starred in Lyle Lyle Crocodile last year.

Of course, Bardem would, by then, be coming off of Dune: Part II and that aforementioned F1 racing movie, plus he already has a relationship with Disney after playing King Triton in the studio’s live-action remake of The Little Mermaid.

If Galactus doesn’t turn out to be Javier Bardem, so be it. All I’m saying right now is that he is Marvel’s top target — and why wouldn’t he be? From No Country for Old Men to Skyfall, he makes for a hell of a villain. And yes, you can expect to see a female Silver Surfer, as I noted on last week’s Hot Mic podcast, which you can catch live on YouTube every Thursday, and everywhere podcasts are found these days.

Stay tuned for more on the Fantastic Four front…

I’m told he feared that the cast was “way too white,” in the words of one insider. Reed Richards would be the character eyed to diversify the cast.