Rumor: John Krasinski To Take On Expanded Role At Marvel Studios Involving The Fantastic Four and Reed Richards

Donald Edmonds |

Apr 15, 2020

A new rumor details that A Quiet Place actor and director John Krasinski might not only be playing Reed Richards in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but he also might step behind the camera and direct as well as write.

Fans of the star have been clamoring for Krasinski to take on the role of the MCU’s Mister Fantastic for quite a while. There are stories going back to March, and even in November there were some whispers about the Office star joining the MCU as the leader of the Fantastic Four.

Krasinski even responded to those rumors in February. He stated, “I would love to be in the Marvel universe. I love those movies because they’re fun, but I also think they’re really well done.”

The Fantastic Four – MCU @MarvelStudios @johnkrasinski #EmilyBlunt @ZacEfron @JohnCena #FantasticFour pic.twitter.com/Ij1VOQT2KN

— BossLogic (@Bosslogic) April 7, 2018

He added, “And certainly a lot of my friends are in those movies. I have no idea what [Marvel] are thinking. But if they are considering me for Mr. Fantastic, continue to consider me because I would love it.”

Well, if this new rumor is to be believed it looks like Krasinski will get to play Mister Fantastic and he is in serious discussion to take on the role.

This tidbit of information is coming to us from Mikey Sutton and the Lords of the Longbox YouTube channel. To be clear this is a rumor and Marvel Studios has not made an official statement.

The alleged scoop also states that Marvel is considering him to write and direct an upcoming Fantastic Four movie. And that if they should have him in the role, they want to debut the character in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness as part of the Illuminati. Which is another can of worms to open up.

In a bit of a contrast to Sutton’s rumor, Geeks WorldWide’s Thomas Polito reports Krasinski recently had a meeting with Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige to discuss a number of projects. However, Polito reports “Krasinski is not currently in talks for any MCU project.”

Polito speculates that Krasinski could play Kang the Conqueror in a possible Young Avengers film or Disney Plus series while also leaving the door open to play Mister Fantastic as well.

And The Invisible Woman? Who Else?

Fans have also put out into the internet their desire to see Emily Blunt take on the role of Sue Storm Richards, the wife of Mister Fantastic, and the real-life wife of Krasinski.

According to Sutton’s sources, Blunt isn’t interested in lengthy contracts that the MCU would have for her in playing one of their key characters. Yet according to these same sources, her being cast with her husband is “pretty much a sure thing.” It’s hard to say when she would make her debut in the MCU, if alongside her husband in the Doctor Strange sequel or in the Fantastic Four standalone film. No casting announcements or rumors to that effect have been made for Johnny Storm or Ben Grimm/Human Torch and Thing.

Mentor, Protector of the Earth

As for the rumor regarding the Illuminati, Sutton previously detailed that Reed Richards would form the Illuminati at the end of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. This incarnation would be a tad bit different from the comics version given Iron Man is dead in the MCU.

Sutton detailed the team would not only include Reed Richards, but Professor X of the X-Men, Black Bolt of the Inhumans, Black Panther, and Namor.

The set of circumstances that brings about this loose collective of heroes will more than likely be different than the ones in the comics. The secretive group was formed in the fallout of the Kree-Skrull War with Iron Man proposing the different groups pool their resources into one.

That idea would be rejected, but Richards would counter with the members forming a small group in order to share information in order to protect the Earth. All the members would agree except for Black Panther, who rejected the proposal.

Not only are there rumors concerning the Multiverse of Madness, but as the Lords of the Longbox notes, there are also rumors that Richards could step in to fill the void that Tony Stark left in the life of Peter Parker aka Spider-Man. He could play Parker’s mentor.

Parker lost his previous mentor, Tony Stark, at the end of Avengers: Endgame. His struggle with that loss was one of the plot points for Spider-Man: Far From Home.

In fact, much of Spider-Man: Far From Home is Parker struggling with Tony Stark and Iron Man’s legacy. A responsibility and burden he initially rejects before he quickly discovers it’s one only a few can shoulder.

While Parker doesn’t become the next Iron Man so to say, he does heavily rely on Stark’s technology to aid him in his fight against Mysterio, who interestingly enough also employs Stark technology to combat Spider-Man.

Given that his secret identity is outed at the end of the film, Parker might definitely need a guiding hand to help him navigate his upcoming struggles.

But what do you think of this alleged scoop from Sutton and the Lords of the Longbox? Sound off in the comments below or let’s talk about it on social media!