Pedro Pascal says the most unsettling moment of his career was glancing in a mirror on the Wonder Woman 1984 set and seeing himself clean‑shaven beneath a blond wig, a look he now describes as “appalling” in a new LADbible interview released while promoting The Fantastic Four: First Steps.
He told co‑star Vanessa Kirby that he has “never gone back” to a bare face—and Marvel agreed, allowing the actor’s trademark moustache to stay when he steps into Reed Richards’ lab coat next week. The grooming choice breaks with decades of comic‑book imagery but, according to Pascal, was “a collaborative call that felt right for where the character begins”.
First Steps bows in U.S. cinemas on 25 July, with Kirby, Joseph Quinn and Ebon Moss‑Bachrach rounding out the iconic team under director Matt Shakman’s retro‑futurist vision. Early blue‑carpet reactions praise the dynamic between Pascal and Kirby and the 1960s‑tinged production design, though a handful of posts fault “rough CGI baby moments” in one sequence. Analysts expect an opening frame of $90‑100 million worldwide—healthy, yet trailing this month’s Superman: Legacy reboot—and note that strong word of mouth will be critical once the review embargo lifts on 22 July.
Shakman revealed this week that the film’s post‑credits stinger was secretly shot by Joe and Anthony Russo to tee up 2027’s Avengers: Doomsday, where Pascal is already contracted to return alongside the quartet. Industry watchers say Marvel needs the project to erase memories of earlier attempts at the franchise and prove the studio can still mint fresh icons in a crowded superhero market.
Pascal, for his part, claims the role scored instant approval from his teenage nephews, who “lost it” when they heard the news—a reaction he says outweighed the online chatter about his age and facial hair. Whether a moustachioed Mister Fantastic becomes the new norm will depend on audience acceptance, but as social feeds fill with Grogu memes sporting grey sideburns, Marvel’s gamble on star power and subtle reinvention already seems to be paying off.
