What started as a fan casting might soon become a reality. According to unconfirmed reports, actor John Krasinski is poised to play Reed Richards aka Mr Fantastic in the next Marvel film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, a role that fans have begged for him to play.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is part of Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and it follows Doctor Strange as he deals with the fracture of the multiverse caused by his failed spell in Spider-Man: No Way Home. Given the film’s multiverse premise, it was previously claimed that the film will have appearances from a number of actors portraying various versions of well-known Marvel characters.
According to a fresh leak from The Illuminerdi, one of the cameos will involve Reed Richards aka Mr Fantastic, who will be played by John Krasinski of The Office and Jack Ryan. Since Marvel Comics created a bearded version of the character that resembled the actor a few years ago, John has been a popular favorite for the part. There have been countless petitions and even fan art depicting John as Mr Fantastic, but no official word from Marvel has yet been received.
Earlier this year, it was reported that John had been cast as Mr Fantastic in the picture, with his wife Emily Blunt cast as his character’s wife Sue Storm aka Invisible Woman.
Emily, on the other hand, was quick to debunk these rumors. Emily had declared on The Howard Stern Show in May 2021, “That is fan-casting.” There hasn’t been a phone call. It’s simply people thinking, ‘Wouldn’t that be fantastic?'”
However, such denials are no longer meaningful to Marvel fans. After all, Andrew Garfield angrily denied being a part of Spider-Man: No Way Home for two years before finally showing up in the film. John’s desire to feature in Doctor Strange 2 has given fans even more hope. Last year, the actor told ComicBook.com, “I think to be a part of the Marvel world would be amazing anyway, and the fact that people would even consider me for that level of a part would be amazing,”
Reed Richards is the leader of the Fantastic Four in the comic books, which includes himself, his wife Sue Storm as Invisible Woman, brother-in-law Johnny Storm or The Human Torch, and Ben Grimm aka The Thing. In two different Fantastic Four series, the character has previously featured on screen. Ioan Gruffudd portrayed it in the 2005 film Fantastic Four and its 2007 sequel. In the 2015 version of the film, Miles Teller played the role.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is set to hit theaters on May 4th. In addition to Benedict Cumberbatch, Elizabeth Olsen, Benedict Wong, and Xochitl Gomez, it stars Benedict Cumberbatch in the major role.
Reshoots for the film have recently concluded, according to Deadline. According to some sources, the reshoots are part of Marvel’s efforts to boost the film’s cameo count. According to reports, Marvel Studios hopes to repeat the audience response to Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield’s debut in No Way Home with additional fan service in the Multiverse of Madness.