John Krasinski is officially the first Fantastic Four team member to appear in the MCU. The actor played Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, just as rumors claimed he would. That’s despite Marvel not announcing any details about the MCU’s first Fantastic Four movie until recently.
Fast-forward to Comic-Con 2022, and Marvel finally revealed the film’s release date. We know Fantastic Four is one of the first Phase 6 projects, with two Avengers movies set to conclude the Phase. But we still don’t know who will play the Fantastic Four heroes. And Krasinski, who is finally talking about his Doctor Strange 2 role, isn’t ready to confirm a return. Mind you, some spoilers might follow.
John Krasinski playing Mister Fantastic was one of the fans’ most popular MCU casting choices. And one of the most exciting Multiverse of Madness rumors. It turned out that Marvel did hire the popular actor to play the character that fans wanted him to play. And Marvel confirmed it all happened because fans asked for him.
But Marvel gave us Krasinski’s Mister Fantastic with a huge twist. He played the Reed Richards of a different reality. And we don’t know who the other Fantastic Four members of that team are.
More importantly, Krasinski’s character died within minutes after appearing on screen, as Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) had no problem turning Earth-838’s Mister Fantastic into spaghetti.
Finally, John Krasinski playing a variant of Mister Fantastic isn’t a guarantee that the actor will also play the MCU’s Reed Richards. That’s something we already know from various multiverse projects. Spider-Man: No Way Home established that Spider-Man variants can look different. Loki did the same thing before that.
Will John Krasinski return to the MCU’s Fantastic Four?
Since the Fantastic Four detail in Multiverse of Madness was such a big secret, Krasinski was never a part of the Doctor Strange 2 press tour. He didn’t have to field questions about his MCU role and what it might mean for the future of the MCU’s Fantastic Four franchise.
But it was only a matter of time until the actor had to address speculations about his Reed Richards role. It happened on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon where he had to carefully dodge the host’s questions about the MCU’s main Fantastic Four team.
Fallon brought up the Fantastic Four announcement at Comic-Con, asking John Krasinski whether he’ll return to the MCU.
“Seriously, what have you heard? I need to know,” the actor quickly joked.
He then proceeded to offer the same remark that MCU actors often have to deliver during interviews. They — Marvel — don’t tell you anything about it, Krasinski said.
Marvel’s cast announcement must be imminent
Fallon pressed on whether Emily Blunt will play Sue Storm alongside him. That’s the other popular Fantastic Four fan-cast. Krasinski had to feign surprise before getting into another gag about Marvel snipers in the audience.
John Krasinski might not be ready to say anything on the record, but we might not have to wait that long. Marvel plans to release Fantastic Four in theaters in November 2024. That means the clock is ticking. Production will start soon, so Marvel’s cast announcement shouldn’t be long.
While you wait, you can watch Krasinski’s interview below.
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