On a cold winter night in Sydney, at a fan event to promote Marvel's The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Pedro Pascal (The Last Of Us) tells the origin story of the film's cast. From his perspective, it had been years in the making. Pascal had previously worked with Joseph Quinn (Stranger Things) — who plays Johnny Storm in the film — on the set of Gladiator II. And for years, he and Ebon Moss-Bachrach (The Bear) — who portrays Ben Grimm in the film — "were in casting rooms together in New York City". "He was getting all the jobs," Pascal says of Moss-Bachrach. And while he had never previously met Vanessa Kirby (The Crown) — who plays his on-screen wife, Sue Storm — Pascal notes that they move in similar circles and he credits her for convincing the producers to bring him onboard after the other three had already been cast. "And so then, when we were finally together," he explains, "it felt like family." The First Family Often referred to as Marvel's First Family, The Fantastic Four is a comic book superhero team created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee. Debuting in 1961, in the midst of the Space Race, the team consists of brilliant scientist Reed Richards, his wife Sue, her brother Johnny and Reed's best friend Ben. During a mission to outer space, the four are exposed to cosmic rays that imbue them with superpowers. Reed becomes Mr Fantastic, who can bend and stretch to superhuman proportions. Sue, AKA the Invisible Woman can, true to her moniker, turn invisible and produce powerful force fields. Johnny, the Human Torch, can generate flames on his body and is able to fly. And Ben has superhuman strength and durability, due to his rock-like skin. Despite their impressive powers, it's being a family that has always separated The Fantastic Four from other Marvel teams, such as The Avengers. "[There's] something about the domestic thing that every person can identify with in every way," says Kirby, "And the idea of making it work with each other against the external things. "And that's something that's so universal and that makes it really, really special." Life imitating art In person, on stage, the cast certainly looks the part of a family, displaying a genuine level of comfort and affection for one another. Pascal and Kirby are the parents, the headliners and the leaders of the group (Pascal further-cementing his 'Internet's Daddy' status). Quinn is the younger brother — his own star ascending (most recently in a head-turning performance in Alex Garland's Warfare). And Moss-Bachrach is more than happy to play the uncle role — equal parts comedian and curmudgeon — making an audience-splitting joke to open the Q+A session, which I won't repeat here. They also reveal that they have an active and vibrant group chat, called ABBA — after another famous foursome. But most startlingly, Kirby, whose character, Sue was pregnant, and then a mother, is now expecting her first child in real life. "It's definitely been surreal," says the English actor, "But I feel like I have been so emotional and mov[ed] because, you know, Sue's Marvel's mother. I was wearing a fake pregnancy bump for half the film. We have a little baby in the film." Having played a superhero mum has provided Kirby with a template for her own impending motherhood. "I think the main thing is that she's a working mother. She doesn't stop for a second. Not only does she have to defend the world, but she also has to be a new mother with a newborn and keep going. "And thank God, you know, the woman is not sidelined just because she's a mother. And so she told me that that's possible." This is not a period piece To complete the vision of the film, director Matt Shakman placed the family in a retro-futuristic re-imagining of 1960s America. He previously brought a similar aesthetic to the beloved Marvel series, WandaVision (2021). "He came in with a very distinct vision, and he had the tenacity to make it, and to lean into practical filmmaking whenever he could," explains Quinn. "So, there were these incredible sets that took months to build, and he wanted the world to feel authentic and tangible. And so that was a very exciting thing." And being set in an alternate version of the 60s gave Shakman and the cast a level of creative license. "It was interesting for us because the retro future thing meant that we weren't making a period piece, you know, like Mad Men," says Kirby, who knows a thing or two about period pieces, having made a name for herself portraying Princess Margaret on The Crown. "So [it's] futuristic and it wasn't, and it was quite hard finding that balance because you didn't want to have the etiquette or the gender politics of certain times in history. It was more like the freedom to create." Making human beings out of people who have superpowers Despite being an ensemble, make no mistake, Pedro Pascal is the film's main drawcard. On this night, the Chilean-American actor deftly works the crowd — signing autographs and taking selfies with fans. Right now, Pedro Fever is as strong as it's ever been, with a hit series (The Last Of Us) and three movies (Eddington, Materialists, The Fantastic Four: First Steps) to his name in 2025. But success didn't come easily for him. And it certainly didn't come early. Pascal was famously a jobbing actor, playing small roles for years in shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Law and Order, before his breakthrough, at the age of 39, when he was cast as Oberyn Martell in HBO's Game of Thrones. And he's quick to remind us that he is still more actor than star. "We all are theatre animals that really kind of cut our teeth on stage," he says about himself and his cast mates — his family. Beneath the $US200 million budget, costumes, elaborate sets and CGI spectacle, Pascal sees their role as making "human beings out of people who have superpowers". Or, as Moss-Bachrach puts it: "Our job is really to take care of the hearts of the characters and the relationships and trust that a great team will do the rest of that stuff." Reflecting on his career, Pascal thinks it was never about choosing to continue being an actor, even when times were tough. "It becomes the thing that you know how to do. And if you keep doing it long enough, you don't know how to do much else. So, I think that's one part of it," he says. "And another thing is that you can't really choose love. You know, it kind of chooses you. "And so, if you're in love with something, recognition isn't the point. Survival is vital, you know, but the love of it is really the thing that'll keep you in it." The Fantastic Four: First Steps is in cinemas from July 24.