John Krasinski offered an update on whether he will return as the MCU's Reed Richards in the 2025 Fantastic Four reboot.
The casting of the MCU's Fantastic Four has been a hot topic among fans ever since Disney acquired Fox and the reboot was eventually announced. Plenty of names have been thrown around for Marvel's First Family, with The Office's John Krasinski being among the most discussed for Reed Richards, aka Mr. Fantastic.
Fans got a small taste of that possibility earlier this year when the actor shockingly popped up as a member of Earth-838's Illuminati in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Unfortunately, that particular Variant met his demise to Scarlet Witch, but many still want to see Krasinski back in the main timeline.
So far, Krasinski has insisted he has no knowledge of his MCU future, and his latest batch of comments seems to offer a disappointing update in that regard.
Will John Krasinski Play the MCU's Mr. Fantastic?
During the press event for Jack Ryan Season 3, John Krasinski confirmed to The Wrap that there "aren't any discussions at all" about him returning to the MCU as Reed Richards for 2025's Fantastic Four movie, following his Illuminati cameo in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
The Office star revealed that his only discussion with Marvel Studios came with his offer to film his Multiversal cameo for Doctor Strange 2, an experience he called a "real thrill" given his fandom of the comic book world:
“There aren’t any discussions at all, the only discussion I had was actually in the second-to-last week of Jack Ryan. Kevin Feige called and said would you ever fly to L.A. and play in our sandbox for a day? I was honored to do it. I flew right from Budapest when we wrapped and went right to the ‘Doctor Strange’ set. I’m a big fan of all those characters and that world, so to get to play in that sandbox for one day was a real thrill.”
Krasinski added how his quick and premature death "wasn't [his] end goal" in the Marvel universe, indicating he may have had aspirations for a larger role:
“It was totally insane. To be in a room with all those people, and again to be a part of that narrative is crazy. But yeah, being turned into spaghetti wasn’t my end goal in life as far as how it goes in the Marvel universe, but you know what it was fun nonetheless.”
Does John Krasinski Have a Future in the MCU?
Fantastic Four doesn't release until February 2025, with production not expected to begin until some point in 2024 under director Matt Shakman. So, Marvel Studios has plenty of time left for its search to cast Marvel's First Family, although things aren't looking so good for John Krasinski's chances at the role.
The actor's mention of having an "end goal" in the franchise beyond his quick spaghetti death seems to suggest that he originally had aspirations for a larger role in the MCU. However, just because Krasinski probably won't be leading Fantastic Four, that doesn't mean his MCU tenure has to be over.
Several actors such as Eternals' Gemma Chan have now played multiple roles in the MCU, so Krasinski could eventually tackle another character. Although that would likely come once enough time has passed for his Multiverse of Madness cameo to fall into the back of fans' minds.
Alternatively, eventually introducing the Council of Reeds could offer another way to facilitate his return. Perhaps Marvel Studios could one day deliver a Spider-Man: No Way Home-inspired crossover of multiple Mr. Fantastic Variants including Krasinski, Ioan Gruffudd, Miles Teller, and the MCU's newest Reed Richards.
Fantastic Four hits theaters on February 14, 2025.
