Fantastic Four Is Another Pedro Pascal 'Daddy' Role - But It May Hit Different

Pedro Pascal is Hollywood's favorite daddy, with the star of "The Mandalorian" on Disney+ and HBO's "The Last of Us," having made a name for himself as a begrudging father figure with a heart of gold and an itchy trigger finger. Now, Marvel has reportedly tapped him to play Reed Richards in "Fantastic Four."

For those who only know Reed Richards from his brief cameo in "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" or 20th Century Studios' many projects, it may come as something of a shock to know that he is a certified daddy. Well ... he's a father, sometimes of one, sometimes of two, and Hollywood insider Jeff Sneider believes that he and wife Sue Storm, aka the Invisible Woman, will make their Marvel Cinematic Universe debut as parents.

Attentive readers will note that this is somewhat of a hypothetical situation. It certainly seems as though Marvel gave Pascal an offer, but he's yet to sign anything. Nor is there an official plot synopsis for "Fantastic Four," so there's no guarantee that this version of Mister Fantastic will be a father anyway. Still, if it is true, then Marvel is planning to break Pascal's mold. Neither Din Djarin nor Joel Miller is related to the children that they're famous for reluctantly parenting. What's more, Mando and Joel grow into their respective roles ... Richards doesn't.

In the comics, Mister Fantastic and the Invisible Woman's first child is a boy named Franklin who's essentially a mortal-born deity. Like the Infinity Stone before him, he's got the ability to alter reality. At least one version of his story sees him save the Multiverse from destruction, which, given the MCU's current narrative arc, makes his potential inclusion all the more likely. Their second child is a girl named Valeria. Although she can't change reality on a whim, she's smart, the kind that can rival or surpass her genius father.

The Richards kids are cool, but honestly, that doesn't matter because all children deserve love, and Mister Fantastic doesn't have any to spare – his first love is and always will be science. In fact, the void where his heart is supposed to be is so vast that Reed Richards isn't even a hero in every universe. So while Pedro Pascal is a phenomenal talent, unless Marvel is drastically changing Richards' personality, the studio isn't hopping on the daddy bandwagon — it's flipping it over and dousing the wreckage in gasoline. Which kind of sounds like something Pascal would love doing, actually.