That surprise A-list cameo in Doctor Strange 2 explained

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Here's what's going on with that huge Doctor Strange 2 cameo

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
(Image credit: Marvel Studios)

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is now out in theaters as the MCU gets a whole lot more complicated. We follow Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) as they venture into the multiverse.

The introduction of the new dimension also leaves room for some great cameos. Some of these were expected, while others came as a huge surprise for Doctor Strange 2 viewers. We've taken a deep dive into one of the most-rumored castings in the MCU which saw a Hollywood star make a brief appearance.

If you've yet to see Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, don't read on. Consider this your spoiler warning and come back once you've seen the Marvel movie.

Benedict Cumberbatch in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

(Image credit: Disney/Marvel)

If you've made it this far, then you'll know that, yes, John Krasinski is Mr. Fantastic in Multiverse of Madness. 

Not only that, but Krasinski appears in the character's famous blue costume, and even shows off his stretchy powers. Along with being a member of the Fantastic Four, he's also a key player in the Illuminati, joined by Anson Mount's Black Bolt, Hayley Atwell's Captain Carter, Lashana Lynch's Captain Marvel, Patrick Stewart's Professor X, and Chiwetel Ejiofor's Mordo. 

If you want to know more about Krasinski's surprise MCU debut and what it means for the future of the MCU, scroll on...

Who does John Krasinski play in Doctor Strange 2?

Mr. Fantastic, AKA Reed Richards, is a member of the Fantastic Four in Marvel comics. He's married to Susan Storm, AKA the Invisible Woman. Also in the superhero team is Benjamin Grimm, AKA the Thing, and Johnny Storm, AKA the Human Torch.

Reed Richards is a genius scientist, and, thanks to a mishap with some cosmic radiation, has the ability to stretch his entire body. We'll most likely next see the character in the upcoming Fantastic Four movie, which doesn't have a release date just yet.

Doctor Strange 2 writer Michael Waldron has addressed Krasinski’s introduction into the MCU. Speaking to Screen Rant about this, he said: "That's probably my favorite comic book character. To get to work on originating that character in the MCU to some extent, felt super cool. That was a lot of fun." He also revealed he wasn’t involved in the casting process but worked closely with director Sam Raimi to create the character.

The cast and crew have also shared a bit more insight into how the cameos were filmed for the movie. Speaking on the My Mom’s Basement podcast, Waldron explained: "A lot of that stuff was shot out of sequence." Although, Lynch’s Captain Marvel was on set with Atwell’s Captain Marvel.

This was confirmed by Elizabeth Olsen’s Wanda Maximoff who explained they had never met in person. Speaking to Vanity Fair, the actor took a lie detector test where she was asked if she thought Krasinski was the "smartest man alive" in reference to his character. She laughed the suggestion off, before admitting: "I’ve never met him." Speaking to Cinemablend, she explained that they actually filmed the scene through a bit of movie magic, meaning they were not on the set at the same time.

Interestingly, according to Deadline writer Justin Kroll, Krasinski may also not have been the first choice to play the part. He revealed: "Fun fact, Krasinski wasn't the first choice, the actor originally set to play the role was all set to shoot but when there was an uptick in COVID cases, he backed out as he was living in London and didn't think the quick shoot [was] worth risk of bringing back COVID to the fam." Alongside his tweet about this, he shared a gif of Daniel Craig.

Will John Krasinski be in the Fantastic Four movie?

John Krasinski

(Image credit: Getty)

Well, that's hard to predict. While in Doctor Strange 2, actors play different versions of their character – Benedict Cumberbatch and Elizabeth Olsen play multiple Stephen Stranges and Wanda Maximoffs, respectively – in Spider-Man: No Way Home, three Peter Parkers are played by three different actors (Tom Holland, Tobey Maguire, and Andrew Garfield). Plus, there's the fact that we have yet to meet the main Marvel timeline's version of Reed. Krasinski may have the role, or it could be someone else entirely.

Mr. Fantastic has been played in live-action twice before, once by Ioan Gruffudd, and a second time by Miles Teller. It's unclear if we'll be seeing either of them again in the role.

There's also the fact that Wanda turned Mr. Fantastic into stretchy spaghetti in a murderous rampage that wiped out every single Illuminati member besides Mordo... 

No casting news has been announced for the upcoming Fantastic Four movie just yet, and director Jon Watts recently dropped out, too. With that in mind, we'll probably have to wait a while longer to find out if Krasinski will return to the role – and if his real-life wife Emily Blunt will be playing his on-screen wife Susan Storm, as many have fan-cast.

Want more on Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness? Then check out our guides to:

Molly Edwards
Molly Edwards
Senior Entertainment Writer

I'm a Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering all things film and TV for the site's Total Film section. I previously worked on the Disney magazines team at Immediate Media, and also wrote on the CBeebies, MEGA!, and Star Wars Galaxy titles after graduating with a BA in English.