Why that unexpected Doctor Strange cameo was a full-circle moment for [SPOILER] and the MCU
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Warning: This article contains spoilers about Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
If you watched the first Super Bowl tease for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, then you had a good idea that Patrick Stewart's Professor Charles Xavier was probably making his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut in the Sam Raimi-directed film (though it may not be his last appearance in the franchise). But when Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) is finally brought before the Illuminati of Earth-838, Xavier isn't the only fan-favorite character that shows up.
In Marvel comics, the classic Illuminati lineup typically includes Xavier and Strange as well as Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four, Black Bolt of the Inhumans, Namor of Atlantis, and Iron Man. With Tony Stark dead in the MCU and Namor a no-show so far, they were out. Anson Mount reprised his role as Black Bolt from the short-lived Inhumans TV show, but John Krasinki's debut as Reed might be the most applause-worthy cameo in all of Multiverse of Madness. Though he's still best known for his performance as Jim on The Office, the beard Krasinski has grown for movies like A Quiet Place makes him a dead-ringer for Reed, who has also become synonymous with a beard in recent years (interestingly, Reed was once known best for his hair graying on the side, but in the MCU that look now seems owned by Cumberbatch's Strange).
Roy Rochlin/Getty Images; Marvel Comics Years of fan-casting came true with John Krasinski's appearance as Reed Richards in 'Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.'
Casting Krasinski also creates a nice redemption arc for the actor, who was originally on the shortlist for Captain America before Chris Evans secured it. The way he tells the story on talk shows, Krasinski had a run-in with Chris Hemsworth in the middle of trying on the Captain America costume and was so intimidated by Hemsworth's body that he knew he wasn't the right fit for the Sentinel of Liberty. That moment of insecurity might explain Krasinski's participation in later projects like 13 Hours and Amazon's Jack Ryan series, which have clearly inspired him to build out a more action-star-worthy body.
Reed Richards, of course, turns the idea of a movie star body inside out. The leader of the Fantastic Four is imbued with the power to stretch and shift his physical form any way he chooses. But even more impressive than that is Reed's brain — introduced in Multiverse of Madness as "the smartest man in the universe," Reed truly is a mad scientist beyond compare. In the pages of Jonathan Hickman's Fantastic Four comics, he once built a device that allowed him to speak with his parallel selves from other universes, a concept that proved the direct predecessor for the Council of Ricks in Rick and Morty as well as our whole current cultural infatuation with the multiverse. Before there was Spider-Verse, there was the Council of Reeds.
Samir Hussein/WireImage; Marvel Comics 'Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness' implies the existence of an Emily Blunt Invisible Woman.
But even more than his stretchy limbs or super-genius intellect, Reed's defining feature is his commitment to his family. It's no wonder that Krasinski was first asked about possibly playing Reed on-screen back in 2018, the same year he performed alongside his real-life wife Emily Blunt in A Quiet Place. Before he's killed by Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) in Multiverse of Madness, Krasinski's Reed confirms that he does indeed have a wife and that she is still alive. The obvious implication is an Invisible Woman portrayed by Blunt (who, like her husband, also has a what-if MCU casting story — she was almost Black Widow).
Director Jon Watts recently backed out of the promised MCU Fantastic Four film, so it's unclear right now what that movie might look like. But it's fun to take Multiverse of Madness' cue and imagine Marvel's First Family, led by Krasinski as Reed and Blunt as Sue Storm.
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