After working with Marvel for over three decades, I'm convinced that first trailer for The Fantastic Four: First Steps' color, vibrancy and energy proved that the highly-anticipated Phase 6 movie will be paying respect to the lengthy Marvel Comics history of the beloved superhero team. I'd also love to see the Fantastic Four's live-action history addressed and redeemed in the MCU reboot, however, and I know how this can be done effectively.

Pedro Pascal, known for Game of Thrones, The Last of Us and The Mandalorian, is set to make his MCU debut as other versions of Mister Fantastic in action again. I'd love to see one actor in particular return to the role of Reed Richards, and his long-running relationship with Marvel makes me think this is very likely.

Alex Hyde-White Played Reed Richards In His First Ever Live-Action Appearance

Alex Hyde-White's Mister Fantastic Debuted In 1994

Although unreleased, 1994's The Fantastic Four marked the first time Marvel's First Family had been brought into live-action, 33 years after being introduced to Marvel Comics at the dawn of the Silver Age of Comic Books in 1961's The Fantastic Four #1. Developed by low-budget specialists Roger Corman and Bernd Eichinger, The Fantastic Four was made on a budget of only $1 million, purely to allow Eichinger to retain the rights to the Fantastic Four. Even so, this unreleased movie introduced us to Alex Hyde-White's Reed Richards, the first ever live-action Mister Fantastic.

Reed Richards has since been portrayed by Ioan Gruffudd, Miles Teller and John Krasinski, making Pedro Pascal the fifth actor to play the iconic Marvel superhero in live-action. Alex Hyde-White's Mister Fantastic was, for the most part, well-received, despite The Fantastic Four's low budget and poor production value. Since subsequent versions of Reed Richards have received some criticism, I'd love to see Alex Hyde-White bring his Mister Fantastic back to life in the MCU's future, and his previous work with Marvel makes me think this could easily happen.

Mister Fantastic Isn’t Alex Hyde-White’s Only Marvel Role

Alex Hyde-White Has Appeared In 3 Different Marvel Projects

While Alex Hyde-White, who has also had roles in Catch Me If You Can, Shameless and Nope, is perhaps best known for playing Reed Richards' Mister Fantastic, this isn't his only Marvel role. In fact, Hyde-White has portrayed three different Marvel characters since making his movie debut, following a small role in Battlestar Galactica, as "Young Man" in 1979's Captain America II: Death Too Soon. The CBS TV movie starred Reb Brown as Steve Rogers' Captain America. 15 years later, Hyde-White portrayed Reed Richards, and 21 years after that, he returned to Marvel.

While I can't it that Marvel Television's Agents of SHIELD is my favorite Marvel product from recent years, I loved seeing Alex Hyde-White appear in the series' third season as Lord Thornally. Hyde-White appeared briefly in season 3, episode 2, "Purpose in the Machine," as an English noble and member of the HYDRA society operating in the 1800s. Thornally avoided going through the Monolith to meet Hive on Maveth, where Jemma Simmons would find herself centuries later, contributing to a small but brilliant role for the former Mister Fantastic star and Marvel legend.

Alex Hyde-White’s Long-Running Marvel Connections Could Huge MCU Fantastic Four Theory

Marvel May Debut The Council Of Reeds In The Fantastic Four: First Steps

The fact that Alex Hyde-White has returned to work for Marvel time and again over the years makes me think that he has a continuing strong relationship with the company that could lead to him returning yet again. This time, I would love to see Hyde-White appear in the MCU proper, as none of Captain America II: Death Too Soon, The Fantastic Four and Agents of SHIELD are considered canon. With The Fantastic Four: First Steps scheduled to be released in July 2025, I am desperate to see Alex Hyde-White reprise his role of Reed Richards.

This possibility makes me think that Marvel Studios could indeed include the Council of Reeds in The Fantastic Four: First Steps. The multiversal group of Mister Fantastic variants has been heavily speculated to be appearing in the Phase 6 movie ever since the project was revealed to be set in an alternate universe. I think this would be the perfect place to bring Alex Hyde-White back to Marvel after his Agents of SHIELD cameo in 2015, and this debut means The Fantastic Four: First Steps could also include Ioan Gruffudd, Miles Teller and John Krasinski's Reed Richards alongside Pedro Pascal.

MCU Movies

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  Thunderbolts*

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  The Fantastic Four: First Steps

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  Avengers: Doomsday (2026)

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  Spider-Man: Brand New Day

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  Avengers: Secret Wars

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