Shortly before Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was released, a hard-to-believe rumour about John Krasinski playing Mister Fantastic in the sequel started doing the rounds online.
We initially scoffed at the possibility but when Disney started sending out requests to websites and social media accounts to take their stories down, it became clear there was some truth to the news. That wasn't confirmed until we watched the movie itself, of course, and Krasinski's cameo was definitely memorable.
It was also a little too brief, though that was likely a result of Reed Richards not being added to the movie until last-minute reshoots!
Talking in the Doctor Strange sequel's newly released "Art of" book, Marvel Studios' Head of Visual Development, Ryan Meinerding, looked back on the privilege of getting to design Mister Fantastic's first-ever MCU costume.
"Any time we get back into the characters that are from the very beginning, it ends up feeling like a tremendous responsibility," he admits. "You have to get it right. You have to modernize it to a degree, but you also have to get something that is going to resonate with the fans and feel like the character."
"In the case of Mister Fantastic, he's one of those characters that's already been on the big screen," Meinerding adds. "So you're trying to come up with something that still feels classic and interesting, yet modern enough to exist in an MCU movie and distinct from what's been done before."
To achieve that, the artist found himself looking for ways to incorporate the leader of the Fantastic Four's powers into what he was wearing. "The intent of putting those extra stripes in there," Meinerding notes, "was to say that the black parts add structure to the costume and to his body, and the blue parts stretch."
Krasinski isn't expected to reprise this role in Matt Shakman's Fantastic Four reboot (Matt Smith, Adam Driver, and Jake Gyllenhaal are said to be among Marvel Studios' top picks) so this was likely a one-and-done appearance for the actor and his costume. With that in mind, we'd expect another redesign in 2025!
In Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, the Marvel Cinematic Universe unlocks the Multiverse and pushes its boundaries further than ever before. We'll journey into the unknown with Doctor Strange, who, with the help of mystical allies both old and new, traverses the mind-bending and dangerous alternate realities of the Multiverse to confront a mysterious new adversary.
The movie's cast includes Benedict Cumberbatch, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Elizabeth Olsen, Benedict Wong, Xochitl Gomez, Michael Stühlbarg, and Rachel McAdams.
The film is directed by Sam Raimi, and Kevin Feige is the producer. Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Eric Hauserman Carroll and Jamie Christopher serve as executive producers. The screenplay was written by Loki Head Writer Michael Waldron.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is now streaming on Disney+.