Freshly Press'd: Fighting for Family with Vanessa Kirby & Pedro Pascal (THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS)

The Fantastic Four are back. But, even when they’re trying to save the world, what matters most to them is their own family.

Directed by Matt Shakman, The Fantastic Four: First Steps (re)introduces the world to the Fantastic Four. Led by Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal), the team of Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby), Human Torch (Joseph Quinn) and the Thing (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) serve the people of Earth 828 as their protectors against otherworldly villains. However, when the mysterious Silver Surfer (Julie Garner) arrives to herald the arrival of the diabolical world-eater, Galactus, the Four find themselves out of their depth, especially with the arrival of Reed and Sue’s impending child. Banding together, the team must fight to find a way to save the world and, of course, their family.

Despite being set in a pseudo-scifi reimagining of the 1960s, the film’s ideas and themes never feel out of date. For star Vanessa Kirby, these modern sensibilities were part of the appeal of her depiction of Sue Storm as her character fights for her family with femininity and parental ferocity.

(L-R) Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic and Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm/Invisible Woman in 20th Century Studios/Marvel Studios’ THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS. Photo by Jay Maidment. © 2025 20th Century Studios / © and ™ 2025 MARVEL.

“Yeah, the first conversations Matt and I had was, you know, he already had for years had had a vision of putting it into the ‘60s,” Kirby begins. “And I remember being so blown away because the idea of trying to distill decades of stories into one movie for 2025, I mean, how do you choose? I remember saying to him like, ‘How are you gonna?’ And he said, ‘Well, I think at the core it’s parenthood. Something about parenthood.’… I always think the projects, the very DNA of it, reflects in the experience that you have. And this was such a combination of domesticity where Reed was smelling Sue’s socks or Sue was brushing her teeth. And then we’d be intergalactic epic cosmos, you know? And that in a way was the experience that you had. And so, I think Matt was so clear about that being at the heart of the comics as well as fundamentally wanting to tell a story about two parents and the fears that they have when their baby is coming along. And obviously the movie begins with that. And the baby is the heart of it. So, for me, that became the soul of it somehow, you know?”

“And Sue in this situation, I was discovering it all the time,” she continues. “I was discovering it through the script and the other actors and through this baby that became the focus, and that grounded us so much… I think it is a combination of everything that’s made it film modern, but also, you know, it’s this retro-future idea. It’s not our 1960s with exactly the same landscape because you’ve got flying cars and amazing technology. But you also have this modernity to it. And that was really exciting to try and embody. But it wasn’t a conscious, it wasn’t a calculated thing. I think it was more an energetic group thing where we wanted to be bold with it.”

What’s more, Kirby was also impressed with Sue’s representation onscreen and on the team itself. Oftentimes taking the lead herself, the courage and strength of Invisible Woman is always visible to the audience. But Kirby doesn’t believe that’s new to the character, especially considering her history in the comics.

“I mean, it’s already there in the comics throughout all the decades,” Kirby points out. “It always seemed to me kind of revolutionary to have this mother at the center of this family, but also be absolutely part of the team, never left at home on her own. And then when I met Matt, and then Kevin for the first time and started talking about Sue, I was already so passionate about her. But it was so exciting to me, this idea of having this pregnant superhero, this working mother. And even in the shooting of it, it was surreal, really, because I had this pregnancy bump. But I was so included in everything, and Matt and Kevin were such huge champions of having her be as complex and as fierce and as loving and warm and all the things that I think the feminine really is. So, it was very daunting.: I really cared, and it’s been a great honor to play her. And I know that I’m just one of many that’s kind of got to know her over the years.”

At the same time, for her co-star Pedro Pascal, the joy of his performance of Reed Richards (aka Mr. Fantastic) lies in portraying a man of brilliance and compassion who is willing to do anything for his family.

Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic in 20th Century Studios/Marvel Studios’ THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. © 2025 20th Century Studios / © and ™ 2025 MARVEL

Says Pascal, “My favorite thing about it was actually that this person who is so brilliant and so comfortable with figuring out the most complex science equations to create solutions for absolutely everything, or to continue understanding how the world and beyond functions without really knowing how to understand the much more complex equation of relationships, family, love and growing in a relationship. And growing in a family. And as a partner, as a friend, and then of course, as a father. The only way he knows how to handle that is by, like, starting to kind of baby-proof the world rather than just be present for the experience. And this is definitely something that Matt guided me through the sort of emotional arc and the details of which because I am not a father.”

But, despite Reed’s brilliance, Pascal notes that his greatest challenges lie within his character’s own insecurities.

“The one thing that I found was kind of anchoring was that somebody that is this smart strangely makes him kind of an innocent,” he begins, “[especially] when it comes to human interactions and relationships, either saying the wrong thing or reading the room incorrectly or finally finding a way to express the thing that burdens him. [He’s] kind of complexed a little by the fact that people aren’t catching up as quickly as his mind works. Like, he’ll see the thing and be like, oh, I have to explain it to you. I’m sorry. And so, there was that and that was really, really fun to kind of like create idiosyncratic behavior around that. But, really at the core, for me, Reed, my authorship is that he’s an incredible codependent. And without them, he doesn’t know how to function. And he’s lost to his own brain. His identity is related utterly to his family and his position in the family and protecting them and being protected by them.”

And, it’s that delightful awkwardness that has often defined Marvel and its characters. When your superhero team consists of a stretchy doctor, an invisible force-wielder, a talking rock-man and flying fireball, one cannot help but recognize the strangeness of it all. Nevertheless, for Kirby, it’s this same ‘weirdness’ that continues to make Marvel so relevant.

“Also, the other thing someone said to me the other day was there’s a weirdness to it,” Kirby believes. “If you look at the comics, you know, Marvel’s always been counterculture, hasn’t it? There’s a weirdness and an otherness to it. And that was also really exciting about this adaptation, is that in the comics they go through lots of weird things. [laugh] They go through loads. They meet so many weird things. And so yeah, I think there’s a beauty in what Matt’s done there.”

With the film finally in theatres, Marvel finally gets to hear what audiences think of their new vision of their First Family. Asked what they’re most excited for fans to experience in First Steps, Kirby is bubbling with enthusiasm for them to simply enjoy the film’s sharply written script.

“Frankly, the writing [is most exciting to me],” Kirby beams. “That was very special, very special to shoot and very special to be doing. At the moment, I was looking at all these amazing men that were holding my hand. And Matt, cheering from the sidelines, making faces at the monitor, I heard, along with me and it just seemed so awesome. A superhero movie that was, you know, full permission to do that.”

“I’m excited for them to see the finale,” echoes Pascal. “I remember when we all kind of grouped together with Matt, because of course, these things have to be shot in pieces and he was giving us an understanding of the kind of movement and music of the whole thing. And we all wept. And so, I personally can’t wait to see that.”

The Fantastic Four: First Steps is available in theatres now.