FANTASTIC FOUR REBOOT TO HIT CINEMAS THIS WEEK

Playing a superhero is the mother of all roles

- BY LYNN RUSK

VANESSA Kirby has described portraying a pregnant superhero in Marvel's upcoming film The Fantastic Four: First Steps as a “great honour”.

The 37-year-old actress, who is currently expecting her first child, stars as Sue Storm/The Invisible Woman in the 1960s-inspired, retro-futuristic reboot in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

The film follows Marvel's First Family as they defend Earth from the cosmic threat of Galactus and his mysterious herald, the Silver Surfer.

Pedro Pascal plays Reed Richards/ Mister Fantastic, alongside Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm/The Human Torch and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm/The Thing.

The film explores the team's origin story. Originally astronauts, the four are forever changed after an experimental space flight exposes them to cosmic rays, granting them extraordinary superhuman powers.

At its core, the story is rooted in family, with Sue and Reed preparing to welcome their first child.

Kirby, who won a Bafta for portraying Princess Margaret in The Crown, said she found it “revolutionary” to have a mother at the centre of the family who was also part of the superhero team.

"When I first started talking about Sue, I was already so passionate about her," she said.

"It was so exciting to me, this idea of having a pregnant superhero, a working mother. Even in the shooting of it, it was surreal because I had this pregnancy bump, but I was so included in everything.