Pedro Pascal to Star as Mr. Fantastic/Reed Richards in Marvel Studios’ “The Fantastic Four” Reboot

Pedro Pascal is preparing for a fantastic project…

Marvel Studios has revealed the cast of its new film The Fantastic Four, with the 48-year-old Chilean actor among those set to star in the reboot.

Pedro PascalPascal will play Reed Richards (aka Mr. Fantastic).

His cast mates will include Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm (aka the Invisible Woman), Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm (aka the Human Torch) and Ebon Moss-Bachrach is Ben Grimm (aka the Thing). The news was made official on Instagram.

WandaVision helmer Matt Shakman is directing Fantastic Four off a script by Josh Friedman, Jeff Kaplan and Ian Springer.

Disney is swapping Fantastic Four and Thunderbolts release dates in 2025: The latter will now kick off summer on May 2, while Fantastic Four will open July 25.

Created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee in 1961, The Fantastic Four is a family of astronauts who after being exposed to cosmic rays during a space mission gain superhero powers. Thing (Ben Grimm) is actually a former college football star, Reed’s college roommate and a skilled pilot.

The film is a major reboot by the Kevin Feige-led Marvel after Disney absorbed the 20th Century Fox Marvel assets, one of those IPs being Fantastic Four. 

That studio made two films in 2005 and 2007, Fantastic Four and Fantastic Four: Rise of Silver Surferwhich combined grossed more than $635 million at the global box office.

A 2015 reboot by Josh Trank crashed, making just $167.8M worldwide.

Raúl Castillo to Star in Paramount‘s “Smile” Sequel

Raúl Castillo has a new reason to smile

The 46-year-old Mexican American actor has been cast in Paramount‘s Smile sequel.

Raul CastilloCastillo is among a list of new cast additions that includes Miles Gutierrez-Riley, who starred in The Wilds.

The film’s plot and character details are being kept under wraps.

The duo joins the previously announced cast: Naomi Scott, Lukas Gage, Kyle Gallner, Rosemarie DeWitt and Dylan Gelula.

Smile writer and director returns for the second installment to again direct from his own script, with Temple Hill producing.

Smile 2 is currently slated for release on October 18, 2024, when it will go up against a still-unnamed title from Universal Pictures.

Going on to gross over $217M in theaters, even if it was initially set up for release on Paramount+, Smile was one of the great, unexpected box office successes of 2022. One of several original studio horror films of late to expand into a franchise, it tells the story of Dr. Rose Cotter (Sosie Bacon), a psychiatrist who becomes increasingly convinced she is being threatened by an uncanny entity, after witnessing a bizarre, traumatic incident involving a patient.

Castillo most recently starred in the Amazon film Cassandro opposite Gael Garia Bernal. He’s set to appear in HBO‘s Mark Ruffalo-led series, the Untitled Brad Ingelsby Task Force Project (w/t), currently in pre-production.

Prior television credits also include HBO’s Looking, Starz’s Vida and Netflix’s Atypical to name a few; Army of the DeadCha Cha Real SmoothKnives Out and We The Animals are among his film credits.

Gutierrez-Riley made his TV debut in the second season of Prime Video’s The Wilds, where he portrayed Ivan. In September 2022, Miles he starred in Paramount’s film adaptation of On The Come Up, which made its world premiere on the opening night of TIFF. Next up, he will star opposite Corey Fogelman in Tommy Dorfman’s directorial debut I Wish You All the Best, premiering at SXSW in March. It has also been announced that Gutierrez-Riley will star in Disney+’s WandaVision spinoff, Agatha: Darkhold Diaries.

Aubrey Plaza to Star in Marvel’s “WandaVision” Spinoff Series “Agatha: Coven of Chaos”

Aubrey Plaza is joining the coven…

The 38-year-old half-Puerto Rican actress and comedian, who is currently starring on Season 2 of HBO’s The White Lotushas been cast opposite Kathryn Hahn and Joe Locke in Agatha: Coven of ChaosMarvel’s upcoming WandaVision spinoff series for Disney+.

Aubrey PlazaDetails about Plaza’s role are being kept under wraps, but she’s believed to be playing a villain opposite Hahn and Locke, according to Deadline.

Hahn is reprising her role as WandaVision bad gal Agatha in the series. Emma Caulfield Ford is also set to reprise the role of Dottie from WandaVision.

Hahn’s Agatha Harkness appeared in Disney+’s WandaVision, from series creator Jac Schaeffer.

WandaVision centered on Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany), two superpowered beings living their ideal suburban lives in the town of Westview, NJ, who begin to suspect that everything is not as it seems. Agatha, who won viewers over with her “Agatha All Along” number, is a witch from Salem and fan-favorite breakout character.

Schaeffer, who is under a joint overall deal with Marvel and 20th Television, serves as writer and executive producer on the spinoff.

Agatha: Coven of Chaos is expected to drop on Disney+ next year.

Gael Garcia Bernal to Star in Marvel Studios’ Halloween Special “The Nevers” for Disney+

It’s never say nevers for Gael Garcia Bernal.

The 43-year-old Mexican Golden Globe-winning actor and producer will star opposite Laura Donnelly in The Nevers, Marvel StudiosHalloween special for Disney+.

Gael García Bernal

Plot details for the untitled special are being kept under wraps, but, Garcia Bernal is reportedly playing a character based on the Marvel character Werewolf by Night, who is capable of transforming into a werewolf while retaining human intellects.

No official word yet on who Donnelly will portray, but if Garcia Bernal is Werewolf by Night, she potentially could be Nina Price, who becomes Vampire by Night. Price is the niece of character Jack Russell/Werewolf by Night and a vampire/werewolf hybrid. She carried the lycan gene and was changed further after being bitten by a vampire.

The special is due to begin production in coming months and follows Marvel’s Disney+ shows WandaVisionThe Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Loki and Hawkeye.

Marvel and Disney also have shows in the works based on She-HulkMs. Marvel and Moon Knight.

Mozart in the Jungle and The Motorcycle Diaries star Garcia Bernal most recently was seen in the M. Night Shyamalan film Old and the HBO Max series Station Eleven.

He’ll next appear in the Jennifer Lopez-led feature The Mother and Amazon film Cassandro.

Victoria Alonso Promoted to President of Physical, Post Production, VFX & Animation at Marvel Studios

It’s another Marvel-ous moment for Victoria Alonso

The 55-year-old Argentine film producer has been promoted to president, physical and post production, visual effects, and animation production at Marvel Studios.

Victoria Alonso

A 15-year studio veteran, Alonso will oversee the divisions across the studio’s slate of films and series and continue to report to Marvel Studios co-president Louis D’Esposito.

“Victoria has been an incredible partner and part of our team since the very first Iron Man,” said Kevin Feige, president, Marvel Studios and chief creative officer, Marvel, and D’Esposito on Monday. “She is one of the most dynamic, candid and accessible executives in the industry and we’re thrilled that she’ll continue to be by our side in this elevated role as we lead Marvel Studios into the future.”

Alonso will continue to serve as executive producer on all upcoming feature films including EternalsDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Thor: Love and Thunder, as well as EP on Marvel Studios’ upcoming series for Disney+ including Hawkeye, Ms. Marvel, She-Hulk and Moon Knight.

“When Louis first suggested I come to work with the team on Iron Man, I never could have imagined the adventure ahead, and as far as I’m concerned, it has only just begun!” Alonso said. “We have an absolutely incredible group of people who are bringing their many talents to the exciting slate of films and series we have on the horizon, and I’m especially thrilled about ramping up our studio’s animation efforts, which is a personal passion of mine. Look forward to more singing!”

Alonso joined Marvel in 2006 as the company’s EVP of visual effects and post production, doubling as co-producer on Iron Man, a role she reprised on Iron Man 2, Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger.

In 2011, she was upped to executive producer on the blockbuster The Avengers, a role she has maintained on all Marvel Studios releases since then including Iron Man 3, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War, Thor: The Dark World, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Ant-Man, Guardians of the Galaxy, Doctor Strange, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Thor: Ragnarok, Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Captain Marvel, Avengers: Endgame, Spider-Man: Far From Home, Black Widow and most recently Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.

During her tenure at the studio, Marvel films have amassed over $23 billion in global box office.

In 2021, Alonso became an Emmy-nominated producer for her work on the MCU’s first series on Disney+WandaVision. She has also become an important voice in Hollywood as a producer, a Latina, and a senior female executive.

She was named one of People en Español Magazine’s top “Poderosa” Most Influential Hispanic Women in 2019 and 2020, and was honored in 2015 with the Muse Award for Outstanding Vision and Achievement from the New York Women in Film & Television.

She was also the first woman to be presented with the Harold Lloyd Award from the Advanced Imaging Society, which is given to a filmmaker who has created a body of work and specific achievements in 3D that advanced the motion picture art form.

In 2017, she was the first woman to be honored with the Visionary Award at the 15th Annual VES Awards for her advancement of unforgettable storytelling through visual effects.

Oscar Isaac In Negotiations to Star as Title Character in Marvel & Disney+’s Comic Book-Based Series “Moon Knight”

Oscar Isaac is a (Moon) Knight in shining armor…

The 41-year-old Guatemalan & Cuban actor is in talks to star as the title character in Marvel Cinematic Universe’s comic book hero Moon Knight, the Marvel and Disney+ series based on the comic.

Oscar Isaac

Jeremy Slater, who developed and wrote Netflix’s series adaptation of The Umbrella Academy comic books, has been tapped to develop and lead the writing team on the series for the streamer.

Moon Knight, aka Marc Spector, is a mercenary who has numerous alter egos — cabbie Jake Lockley and millionaire playboy Steven Grant — in order to better fight the criminal underworld. But later he was established as being a conduit for the Egyptian moon god Khonshu. Most recently, the character was a consultant who dresses in all-white and goes by the name Mr. Knight.

Marvel and Disney+ now will look to attach a director to the series. No production start date has been set. Marvel had no comment.

Marvel and Disney+ have been ramping up their development slate as Isaac joins Tatiana Maslany, who was recently tapped to play She-Hulk, and Iman Vellani, who was named the new Ms. Marvel. As WandaVision, eyes a premiere date before the end of the year, the studios are looking to have a strong set of characters to lead these new tentpole series.

With his time as Poe Dameron in the Star Wars franchise coming to an end, Isaac is not slowing down any time soon. When audiences head back to theaters, he has a number of films set to bow that include the Paul Schrader thriller The Card Counter as well as Denis Villeneuve’s retelling of Dune.

He recently signed on to the HBO limited series Scenes from a Marriage at HBO, reuniting with his old Julliard classmate Jessica Chastain.

Xochitl Gomez to Star in the “Doctor Strange” Sequel “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness”

It’s a Strange time for Xochitl Gomez

The Latina actress has joined the cast of Marvel’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, in which Benedict Cumberbatch returns to reprise the title character and Sam Raimi takes over directing duties.

Xochitl Gomez

Benedict Wong and Chiwetel Ejiofor also are expected to reprise their roles from the original film as, respectively, fellow sorcerer Wong and Strange’s compatriot-turned-nemesis Karl Mordo.

And Elizabeth Olsen has been tapped to reprise her role as Scarlet Witch, aka Wanda Maximoff, for a storyline that Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige has said will link up with her Disney Plus series WandaVision that debuts in December.

Plot details and Gomez’s character are still unknown at this time.

Production will begin after Cumberbatch finishes filming the next Spider-Man film, where he’ll be playing Doctor Strange.

Raimi replaces original director Scott Derrickson, who departed the project in January due to creative differences.

Gomez’s previous credits include Netflix’s The Baby-Sitters Club and Gentefied, as well as Raven’s Home, Roped and Shadow Wolves.