Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: Fantastic Four

  • ‘Doctor Strange 2’ Producer on Making the Mr. Fantastic Fan Cast a Reality

    ‘Doctor Strange 2’ Producer on Making the Mr. Fantastic Fan Cast a Reality

    John Krasinski joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe as the role he’s been fan-cast ever since an image made the rounds of him looking like Mr. Fantastic from the comics. Many years later, he would arrive in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness as part of the Illuminati. Many wondered if this opens up the potential of him taking on the role in the mainline MCU, but while it’s not confirmed, producer Richie Palmer revealed why he was cast in the commentary track (as quoted by The Direct).

    It’s so funny that Kevin [Feige] cast John [Krasinski] because the fans had a dream of who the perfect Reed Richards would be. And because this is an alternate universe, I think Kevin said, ‘Let’s make that dream come true.’ I’ve always really enjoyed all of his performances.’

    Richie Palmer

    It’s something that once again highlights just how much Marvel Studios listens to fans and it’s incredible that they were able to make it a reality. Krasinski and Marvel Studios have not given away if there’s a future for him with the franchise, but it definitely was a cameo alongside Anson Mount‘s return as Black Bolt that had many excited for the future of these characters.

    They also confirmed that Mr. Fantastic uses Doctor Doom’s Time Platform to appear in the sequences, which many theorized due to the visual design that is also not too different from the TVA’s transportation device. So, we may see more of it moving forward, and here’s hoping we ‘ll get more teases of the Fantastic Four joining the MCU at one point.

    Source: The Direct

  • Chris Evans Shares Thoughts on Returning as Johnny Storm

    Chris Evans Shares Thoughts on Returning as Johnny Storm

    Before he was the First Avenger in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Chris Evans suited up as Johnny Storm in Tim Story’s 2005 Fantastic Four. Evans has since become a central figure in the MCU with his role as the iconic Steve Rogers, last appearing in Avengers: Endgame.

    But with Marvel’s most recent theatrical release, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and the introduction of Mister Fantastic, the MCU is much different than the last time audiences saw Evans. Possibilities that once seemed impossible are now much more plausible. So, with Evans stating it would be a tall order for him to return as Cap, it begs to question: would Evans be interested in returning to his first superhero role on the big screen?

    Evans was asked this question in a recent interview while doing press for his upcoming film, Lightyear, with MTV’s Joshua Horowitz. Here’s what Evans had to say:

    “No, no one’s ever come to me about that. I mean, I don’t look exactly the same anymore. That was 15, almost 20 years ago. Oh my God, I’m old. Yeah. Look, I would love it. I would love it. That would actually be an easier sell to me than coming back as Cap. You know what I mean? Cap is so precious to me. And you know, I almost don’t wanna disrupt what a beautiful experience that was. But Johnny Storm, I feel like he didn’t really get his day. That was before Marvel really found its footing. So I love that role, and you know, who knows.”

    So, not only would Evans love to come back as Johnny Storm, he also indicated he feels there’s some unfinished business with the character.

    With Marvel’s 2019 acquisition of Fox — in which the studio regained the rights to the Fantastic Four — and ripple effects of Loki and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, what seemed like a fan’s fantasy a few years ago is now something that could be reasonably explained to viewers. What do you think, would you like to see Evans don the blue and black one more time?

    Source: MTV News

  • Ms. Marvel’s New Powers in the Disney+ Show Aren’t Due to Mr. Fantastic

    Ms. Marvel’s New Powers in the Disney+ Show Aren’t Due to Mr. Fantastic

    If you’ve been wondering if the changes done to Disney+’s version of Ms. Marvel are due to the upcoming Fantastic Four film, this may outweigh that fear. When we first heard rumors of her getting a new power set, there were quite a few concerns that the changes might be a bit too drastic and take away from the character.

    Her Embiggening powers were theorized to be too close to that of Mr. Fantastic. Still, according to writer and producer Sana Amanat, who is also the character’s co-creator, that wasn’t the case. In an interview with The Direct, she talked about what was the true decision on changing her powers that are not of fantastical origin.

    Honestly, I don’t know. I don’t think so. I mean, from my understanding, it was kind of linked to the type of story that we wanted to tell with Kamala, and not only linkage to other MCU events, but also to the sense of history that she has and the relationship to her family, linking the powers to her family’s past. I think that was really the bigger idea.

    Sana Amanat

    So, if you’ve wondered if that was the reason, it seems that her connection to Captain Marvel, especially with her upcoming appearance in The Marvels, is very likely the main cause for this connection. The new powers are also still paying tribute to the originals with some added benefits. We’ll see how it may evolve in the future and who knows if an Inhuman connection is still set up potentially with future episodes. For now, it remains speculation.

    Source: The Direct

  • Marvel Studios Still Searching for ‘Fantastic Four’ Director

    Marvel Studios Still Searching for ‘Fantastic Four’ Director

    We’ve long wondered what the future has in store for the Fantastic Four project. Many were shocked when Spider-Man: No Way Home director Jon Watts stepped down from leading the charge on the project. There was some belief that it meant they may have found someone else to take over the project, but it looks like that might not be the case. In a little exclusive dropped late at night, Deadline’s Justin Kroll has offered a curious update on the film’s progress.

    It looks like Fantastic Four is a top priority for Marvel Studios, but we shouldn’t expect an announcement anytime soon. They are currently going through a long list of potential candidates with a source hinting that they might take at least until labor day to find someone. Marvel is actively going after a mix of candidates as Kevin Feige and his team is also trying their chances with some big names. Kroll shared that:

    There’s a lot riding on a successful adaptation of the Fantastic Four, as previous iterations haven’t been quite what comic fans nor movie-goers hoped for. The first version released in 2005 offered a comedic approach and even gained a sequel with Rise of the Silver Surfer, 2015’s Fantastic Four, also jokingly called Fan4stic, left a sour taste with viewers.

    The fact that Feige is also looking to replicate what happened with Sam Raimi’s work on Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness highlights that they further are focusing on giving their creative teams more freedom. This development has been seen since Feige moved away from Ike Perlmutter‘s influence and it highlights the lessons they’ve learned along the way. So, here’s hoping they can find someone to perfectly bring the Fantastic Four back to the silver screen.

    Source: Twitter

  • John Krasinski’s Mr. Fantastic Took Daniel Craig’s Spot in ‘Doctor Strange 2’s Illuminati

    John Krasinski’s Mr. Fantastic Took Daniel Craig’s Spot in ‘Doctor Strange 2’s Illuminati

    UPDATE: We later would learn that it may not be that Craig was the original choice for Mr. Fantastic, but rather was hired to play Balder the Great, the Illuminati’s Thor equivalent. As he was once almost meant to play the God of Thunder, it’s no surprise that they wanted to add that meta-joke but ended up getting their hands on bringing a popular fan casting to live.

    The arrival of John Krasinski in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was a fan-casting gone wild. While his future as the character was left uncertain, it definitely left quite an impact on viewers, as he’s been one of the top favorites for quite some time now. Yet, it turns out that may have just been a happy accident as Deadline’s Justin Kroll revealed they initially had someone else as their first choice for the role, but they couldn’t join due to COVID.

    As teased by Elizabeth Olsen, she hadn’t met any of the Illuminati members that died by her hand. Barstool Sports’ Robbie Fox points out that this is mainly due to scheduling conflicts, which makes sense given the time it was being filmed, but Kroll revealed that the pandemic also was the reason their first choice didn’t fly out of London to film for the role. And going by the GIF included, it seems their initial plan was for it to be Daniel Craig.

    Craig would’ve been quite a curious choice. The star was on a high with his last run as James Bond 007 after No Time to Die. So, many might’ve not expected him to arrive in another blockbuster franchise like this. Yet, some may argue that him not being willing to fly out actually gave many the fan casting they’ve dreamt about for some time now. So, it all kind of came together for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness after all. Yet, somewhere in the vast multiverse, Craig ended up flying out there and is that universe’s Mr. Fantastic.

    Source: Twitteer

  • The Star of 1994’s ‘The Fantastic Four’ Comments on John Krasinski as Reed Richards

    The Star of 1994’s ‘The Fantastic Four’ Comments on John Krasinski as Reed Richards

    There’s a new Reed Richards on the scene, and the original Mr. Fantastic has thoughts. Alex Hyde-White was the first person to play the patriarch of Marvel’s First Family in live-action, even if most people don’t remember. He portrayed the character in the unreleased 1994 adaptation The Fantastic Four, famously produced with a very low-budget by Roger Corman. Unfortunately, after the movie failed to hit theaters, his career as a big screen superhero became more of a trivia piece than the foundation for Richards’ cinematic legacy.

    No need to worry though, as Hyde-White is still getting plenty of work, and he’s still just as big a fan of Marvel as he was thirty years ago. Sitting down with The Hollywood Reporter to discuss his fantastic past, the upcoming Nope star was asked directly about John Krasinski’s surprise appearance as the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s new Reed. He couldn’t be more pleased:

    Well, that’s not a surprise. He’s been rumored for a while. It’s exciting! He’s proved himself to be a heck of a storyteller and as a lead actor and a producer and director. Krasinski is a force to be reckoned with because he has a joy of storytelling, and he’s a good leader. Those are Reed Richards’ characteristics… If you were to send out a casting spec for Reed Richards, you would say “Excellent leader, control freak — but nice about it. Collaborator willing to take the blame.”

    Alex Hyde-White

    While it remains to be seen whether or not Krasinski becomes the 616 Reed, his cameo in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was a nice surprise for those eager to see him in the role. Until Marvel’s first family is cast, fans can take solace in knowing they’ll (finally) be joining the MCU soon.

    Source: THR.

  • ‘Fant4stic’ Writer Responds to John Krasinski as Reed Richards

    ‘Fant4stic’ Writer Responds to John Krasinski as Reed Richards

    It might be a while before people stop commenting on the biggest surprise cameo in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. When the titular Master of the Mystic Arts and his newest protégé, America Chavez, find themselves stuck on the alternate Earth-838, they are confronted by that world’s mightiest superhero team – The Illuminati. One of the leading members of that team is John Krasinski‘s Reed Richards, billed as the smartest man on Earth-838 and head of the Baxter Foundation.

    The character reveal was a huge shock to audiences. Very few people expected to see the patriarch of the Fantastic Four back on the big screen so soon, let alone played by one of the most popular fan casts in comic book internet history. The last time Richards was in a movie, it was 2015’s Fant4stic, where a younger version of the hero was brought to life by Miles Teller. One of that film’s writers, Jeremy Slater, has now reacted to Reed’s inclusion in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Speaking with Comic Book, the creative revealed his enthusiasm for Krasinski in the role:

    I think Krasinski is a really cool choice if that’s who they go with for whoever the real version of Reed that gets introduced. I think he’d be an awesome choice. We didn’t get to see him do a lot of fun stuff in there — [the Scarlet Witch vs. the Illuminati] was much more of an introduction and a sort of glorified cameo.

    Jeremy Slater

    Slater just finished a run writing Moon Knight for Marvel Studios. He’s received a lot of flack for his work on Fant4stic in the past, which was a critical and financial failure, but the writer has publicly stated he does not claim ownership for the movie. Supposedly, only a single line of dialogue Slater wrote made it into the final film.

    Go see Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness in theaters now.

    Source: Comic Book

  • ‘Moon Knight’ Producers Board Marvel Studios’ ‘Fantastic Four’

    ‘Moon Knight’ Producers Board Marvel Studios’ ‘Fantastic Four’

    It looks like two of the producers behind Marvel Studios’ Moon Knight have boarded Fantastic Four.

    The news was revealed by Moon Knight‘s head writer, Jeremy Slater, in a new interview with Comicbook. “My execs on Moon Knight are the same guys who are running Fantastic Four, so we had a lot of talks about it,” Slater explained. “Grant and Nick are amazing executives. They’re going to find brilliant writers and brilliant directors. And they don’t need my stink anywhere near that project.”

    Grant Curtis and Nick Pepin will help to produce Marvel Studios’ Fantastic Four reboot. Along with producing Moon Knight for Disney+, Curtis has produced a fair amount of Sam Raimi projects including his Spider-Man trilogy for Sony and Drag Me to Hell. While Pepin has been working on projects within the Marvel Cinematic Universe since 2016 when he served as a production assistant on Captain America: Civil War.

    This exciting news comes weeks after Jon Watts exited the project due to a hectic schedule. Watts, of course, is coming off the Spider-Man trilogy for Marvel Studios and Sony. Had he stayed on for Fantastic Four, the director wouldn’t have had gotten much of a break between projects. The split was amicable and it is expected he’ll return for another Spider-Man film. As for who will take over directing duties for Watts, a new director has not yet been announced.

    Fantastic Four does not yet have a release date.

    Source: Comicbook.

  • EXCLUSIVE: Jonathan Hickman’s Run Inspired ‘Doctor Strange 2’s Take on Mr. Fantastic

    EXCLUSIVE: Jonathan Hickman’s Run Inspired ‘Doctor Strange 2’s Take on Mr. Fantastic

    Jonathan Hickman always had a way of reinvigorating stories with some of the most popular Marvel characters. While many will remember his amazing work on the crossover event Secret Wars, he also gave us quite the iconic run focused on the Fantastic Four. It brought a new life to Marvel’s first family and redefined their position within the Marvel universe for many. It seems that may have also been a big inspiration for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness writer Michael Waldron.

    In an exclusive interview with Charles Murphy, the writer talked about the many influences in the film and it turns out that Hickman‘s run with Reed Richards also played a key part in how he approached the Illuminati’s Mr. Fantastic, who was played by John Krasinski.

    Yes and I still have to be deliberately cagey for one more weekend about the specifics about these actors and everything, but it was really trying to draw on that Hickman version of that, of the Illuminati and how they dealt with Incursions. That specific character I love, deeply and was excited to collaborate with that actor on and how to bring him to life.

    Michael Waldron

    He once again highlights that he worked on bringing the character to life with Krasinski, and it’s great to see that the actor was also able to add to the character even if it’s just a brief appearance.. Though taking a strong Hickman direction is a noticeable addition to the character. Given the character’s long history, there are many iterations to choose from but many might point to Hickman‘s run as a modern definite of the character.

    It’s also interesting he made a point to highlight he can’t say much more at this time. So, we’ll see if there’s more information heading our way on Mr. Fantastic and the Fantastic Four in the future. Marvel Studios does have a film planned for the team and outside of Jon Watts dropping out as a director, we don’t know what exactly their plans are just yet.

  • ‘Doctor Strange 2’ Writer on Working With John Krasinski to Bring Mr. Fantastic to Life

    ‘Doctor Strange 2’ Writer on Working With John Krasinski to Bring Mr. Fantastic to Life

    While the Illuminati have been heavily teased throughout the Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness trailers, a latter one getting a little too spoiler happy, they still managed to keep surprised when John Krasinski showed up on the screen as Mr. Fantastic. He’s been a fan favorite to take on the role for quite some time, and people finally got their wish even if Wanda turned him into string cheese. Doctor Strange writer shared what it was like working with the actor to bring the character to life.

    I’m not involved in the casting, but as with all of these performers, I worked really closely with him in bringing that character to life with him and Sam. And especially on that one, because that was the one character that had no real precedent ever in the MCU, at least. Figuring out how we want this guy to be — that was a lot of fun. That particular character is certainly one of my favorite comic book characters.

    Michael Waldron

    In the same interview with Variety, he hints that it was Kevin Feige that made the necessary calls to make this dream casting a reality. When asked though if he might have any idea if we’ll see him return in the role at some point, all he could really answer was that:

    It’s a question for somebody else

    Michael Waldron

    Of course, he’s not responsible for castings, and with Jon Watts exiting the Fantastic Four project, there are a lot of opportunities to let him bring the role to life. Of course, they may have a better chance this time around of actually exploring the character with the rest of the Fantastic family. Our very own Torjborn Frazier made his case for him continuing the role, which you can check out by clicking here.

    Source: Variety