Exclusive | John Krasinski reveals if he is returning as Mr Fantastic in the Marvel Cinematic Universe

John Krasinski, who played Mr Fantastic in a cameo in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, opens up on his future as the character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Dec 13, 2022, 12:08:12 IST

By Abhimanyu Mathur

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Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness raised the bar for crossovers and fan casting with its choice of actors to play the Earth-838’s Illuminati. Among the surprise cameos was John Krasinski, who played Mr Fantastic aka Reed Richards, the leader of the group. Fans have long campaigned for the actor to take up the role and Marvel obliged. But does he plan to return? In an exclusive chat with Hindustan Times, the actor reveals his future in the franchise. Also read: Mr Fantastic was to make MCU debut years ago in deleted scene

John Krasinski as Reed Richards aka Mr Fantastic in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

John was joined by Patrick Stewart (Professor X), Hayley Atwell (Captain Carter), Lashana Lynch (Captain Marvel), and Anson Mount (Black Bolt) in the short sequence. So far, Marvel has maintained that the actors played these roles as a one-off. The Marvel universe is set to see a Fantastic Four reboot and many have wondered if John will return. Talking about whether he will reprise the role in the MCU, John says, “To be honest, I don’t know. To me, it was just a cameo.”

John says that he shot the sequence in a single day after Kevin Feige asked him, soon after he had wrapped up filming his web series Jack Ryan. “It was actually interesting. I wrapped Jack Ryan season 3. Kevin Feige called me and asked would you ever want to do this cameo for a day. And that’s exactly what I did. I went and played it for a day and that’s all it was,” he adds. In fact, the actor says the contrast between the gritty realism of Jack Ryan and the over-the-top fantasy of the Marvel Cinematic Universe was quite something. “It was a really exciting thing and really fun sandbox to play in. Certainly for a day, that’s one hell of a different universe, no pun intended. It was really cool to go from Jack Ryan to that in a matter of hours. It was crazy,” says John.

But before any talk of MCU, John will reprise another role--that of Jack Ryan. Season 3 of the popular show premieres on Prime Video on December 21. The show is based on the popular character created by Tom Clancy and also stars Wendell Pierce, Michael Kelly, Betty Gabriel, and Peter Guinness.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Abhimanyu Mathur
Abhimanyu Mathur is Deputy Editor, Entertainment at Hindustan Times. With almost 15 years of experience in writing about everything from films and TV shows to cricket matches and elections, he inhales and exhales pop culture and news. Currently, he watches movies and TV shows and talks to celebrities for a living, while occasionally writing about them as well. A journalism graduate of Delhi College of Arts and Commerce, Delhi University, Abhimanyu began his career with Hindustan Times at the age of 20, swapping classrooms for newsrooms at an early age. He began his journey in the early days of digital journalism, later switching to the madness of print journalism. Work has led him to far off places like Japan and Jordan, as well as to the interiors of Haryana and the Indo-Pak border. He dabbled in city reporting in places like Meerut, Gurgaon, and Delhi, covered the Olympics and Cricket World Cups, before finding his calling in entertainment and lifestyle during the pandemic. A Rotten Tomatoes Certified Film Critic, he is equally at home covering stories on ground as he is interviewing celebrities and studios, and sometimes prefers to shepherd teams in delivering traffic through the day. Even as his role has evolved from reporter to supervisor over the years, his first love remains writing (and of late, talking on camera). With a good understanding of cinema and its trends, and a keen eye for detail, he continues to spark conversations around showbiz for readers around the world.Read More

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