The Mighty Marvel rumor mill has just cranked out a doozy.
According to the folks at We Got This Covered, Marvel Studios is looking to cast A Quiet
Place director and star John Krasinski as ... Captain America. Or rather, an alternate
universe version of Cap who would appear in the upcoming Doctor Strange in the Multiverse
of Madness.
On its surface, this rumor makes a fair amount of sense. After all, Krasinski did indeed
audition for the role of Steve Rogers roughly a decade ago, when Captain America: The First
Avenger was entering production.
Of course, the role was eventually handed to Chris Evans, who was born to play it, but
there have long been rumors that Marvel head honcho Kevin Feige never forgot about Krasinski,
and has maintained a simmering interest in slipping him into the Marvel Cinematic Universe
somehow ever since.
Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness could be a good vehicle by which to finally
bring Krasinski into the fold, and according to the rumor, he may not be the only Marvel
might-have-been to appear in the flick; if these murmurings can be believed, Tom Cruise
might also appear as an alternate universe Tony Stark. It's long been rumored that Cruise
was offered the role before it eventually went to Robert Downey, Jr., although it must
be noted that this has been debunked by none other than Cruise himself.
On that note, now would be a good time to mention that We Got This Covered is not typically
a reliable source of insider info, and that when it comes to these types of rumors, the
site's ever-anonymous sources regularly offer up some major malarkey. This rumor is likely
no different, for a couple of reasons.
"You've gotta stop telling people."
"Oh, okay, I get it. You feel out of the loop, and you feel sorry for yourself, and it's
really sad because everybody thinks you're a loser."
"Do you even know if it's true? Do you have any idea?"
First off, Krasinski is an outspoken fan of the MCU, and he's obviously never lost his
hankering to be a part of the biggest movie franchise in the world. In recent years, his
name has often been floated by fans and industry observers alike in connection with one specific
name: Reed Richards, A.K.A. Mr. Fantastic of the Fantastic Four.
Even before Marvel's First Family became available for Marvel Studios' use thanks to parent company
Disney's 2019 acquisition of Fox, Krasinski was all but lobbying to play Richards in the
MCU.
Back in 2018, Krasinski told ScreenRant that he "would love" to play the MCU version of
Richards should the opportunity arise, and that he would also be pretty pumped if his
wife and Quiet Place co-star Emily Blunt were to be cast as Reed's wife Sue Storm, A.K.A.
the Invisible Woman.
More recently, in the wake of rumors that Krasinski and Feige were engaged in meetings
in early 2020, Krasinski told SYFY WIRE that he'd be down not only to star in a Fantastic
Four movie for Marvel, but to direct it, as well. He said,
"I'd totally be open to that. I love the Marvel universe, I love watching those movies. They're
such a great time, and so well done. I always say 'In Kevin Feige I trust.' He's such a
smart guy, I would never pretend to know what he's thinking. But if he's thinking about
[hiring me], I'd be psyched."
"Well then, what's the one true rumor?"
"We have a right to know."
It seems just a bit unlikely that, after about a decade of courtship, Marvel would bring
Krasinski on just to show up in a glorified, fan-service cameo — almost as unlikely as
Feige suddenly deciding that what the MCU really needs is to start aping its closest
competitor.
Marvel may have announced Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness first, but earlier
this year, Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment revealed plans to adopt the concept of the
multiverse into its films in grand fashion in the upcoming solo movie for The Flash,
which is being directed by It helmer Andy Muschietti and will see Ezra Miller reprising
the title role from Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League.
The Scarlet Speedster is canonically capable of interdimensional travel, and it's been
revealed that at the very least, he'll be dealing with two different versions of Batman
the one established by Ben Affleck in previous DCEU films, and Michael Keaton's version from
Tim Burton's classic Batman movies.
"Why don't you come over and we can watch it together on TV?”
Were Marvel to essentially copy this strategy and introduce alternate versions of its heroes
in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, it would be a pretty stunning reversal from
the tack the studio has taken in the past that is, blazing its own path and leaving
competitors wondering how to achieve similar success without openly copying Marvel. It's
hard to imagine Feige and Marvel Studios are champing at the bit to switch from cinematic
trendsetters to trend-chasers.
No, this rumor feels like one that should be filed under "N" for "Not Bloody Likely."
Somehow, we get the idea that Krasinski is destined for a much bigger role in the MCU.
When that announcement finally comes, we'll be all over it.
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