Reed Richards, aka Mr. Fantastic, is one of Michael Waldron’s favourite Marvel characters. So when Waldron had the opportunity to write Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness for Marvel Studios, he knew he had to include Reed Richards, even if it had no chance of happening… or so he thought.
As we know, Reed Richards did appear in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness as played by John Krasinski, but Michael Waldron had originally scripted an entirely different cameo for the hero. Waldron told Empire that he “always wanted Reed Richards in this thing” and included him in the first draft of the script.
In my very first draft, I wrote a tag just for the hell of it, of the events of the movie being recorded and reviewed by somebody in the Baxter Building, and a stretchy hand coming into frame to run it back. Reed is probably my favourite Marvel comics character, so I was always gunning to get him in here somewhere.
In Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Reed Richards was part of the Illuminati alongside Professor X (Patrick Stewart), Captain Carter (Hayley Atwell), Baron Mordo (Chiwetel Ejiofor), and Captain Marvel (Hayley Atwell). Unfortunately, the world’s smartest man didn’t get much to do before Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) turned him into ribbons.
Thanks to the appearance of Reed Richards in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, the Fantastic Four have taken their first step into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The superhero team will also be the focus of their very own movie, which will kick off Phase 6 of the MCU. Spider-Man: No Way Home director Jon Watts was originally tapped to direct the Fantastic Four movie for Marvel. However, he dropped out earlier this year after realizing he needed a break after directing three Spider-Man movies back-to-back. WandaVision director Matt Shakman has now signed on to helm the movie, but he had to step down from directing Star Trek 4 in order to do so. Fantastic Four will hit theaters on November 8, 2024