The Marvel Cinematic Universe is gradually moving towards its next big Avengers team-up movie, its first since the events of Avengers: Endgame. In fact, the two team-ups will occur in the form of Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. With the roster having changed so much since the events of Endgame, however, MCU fans might be surprised by the new Avengers leader confirmed by Marvel.
In other words, The Fantastic Four: First Steps director Matt Shakman revealed the new Avengers leader while speaking in a new interview. Obviously Shakman had plenty of work to accomplish with his Fantastic Four endeavor, not only introducing the fan-favorite superhero team to the MCU, but setting the stage for their immediate return in Avengers: Doomsday.
Additionally, not only did the team have to appear in Avengers: Doomsday, but it looks like one of the Fantastic Four members will have a much bigger role to play when it comes to the new Avengers film.
Here’s what Shakman had to share with Variety on that front and the difficulty of finding an actor that could play the part:
“He goes from being the nerdy scientist who’s locked away in the lab, to the husband and the father who’d do anything to protect his family, to the guy who’s leading the Avengers,” Shakman said. “I realized that the version we were building had to have all of those elements.”
Shakman is referring to none other than the Fantastic Four’s own leader, Reed Richards, who will be played by Pedro Pascal in the new adaptation. It looks like Pascal’s character will not only lead that superhero team, however, but he’ll ultimately learn to lead the MCU’s Avengers as well. It does make sense that he’d become the leader of the MCU Avengers, however, especially when one considers Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom will be the film’s major antagonist.
Ultimately, fans will have to wait until December 18, 2026 to see how Reed Richards comes to lead the Avengers in Avengers: Doomsday. Stay tuned to ScreenGeek for any additional updates regarding Avengers: Doomsday and the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe as we have them.