Spoilers ahead for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness treated fans to a range of cameos from familiar faces, but it turns out the latest Marvel movie could’ve also featured an appearance from 007 himself. That’s right, recently retired James Bond star Daniel Craig was at one point due to turn up in Doctor Strange 2, until safety concerns put paid to that plan. And, according to some sources, he nearly played Mr. Fantastic!
This intriguing “what if…?” scenario was revealed by Deadline’s Justin Kroll on Twitter, as well as corroborated by other industry insiders. According to Kroll, Craig was due to travel to the film’s set to spend one day shooting his cameo, but concerns of rising COVID cases at the time led him to back out. With Craig out the window, John Krasinski was hired as Reed instead.
While Krasinski’s cameo as Mr. Fantastic left fans agog as it is, now that we know Craig nearly showed up, folks are desperate to see what he would’ve been like in the role.
Let’s hope Craig and director Sam Raimi can work together on another project.
Hey, maybe Craig could play the Thing in the upcoming Fantastic Four reboot?
On the other hand, it’s important to stress that alternate information suggests Craig was actually hired to play Balder the Brave, an Asgardian god and the brother of Thor. Mr. Fantastic was then allegedly swapped in for Balder after Craig pulled out.
That idea probably makes a little more sense and has fans equally intrigued.
Yeah, we can kinda see it.
But maybe things worked out for the best and there’s another character out there for him.
Mephisto, anyone?
If Craig’s almost-casting in Doctor Strange 2 seems random, remember that he’s married to Rachel Weisz, who just joined the MCU herself in Black Widow. Likewise, he was once offered the role of Thor before Chris Hemsworth was cast, which leads more credence to that Balder rumor. Although if Marvel wants to cast him as one of the Fantastic Four, it seems people would be up for it.
