Now that Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is streaming on Disney Plus, Marvel fans have been given the go-ahead to criticize anything and everything about John Krasinski’s Reed Richards, who appears briefly at the midway point. After Doctor Strange and America Chavez are captured by the Illuminati, Chavez is kept in an unbreakable containment cube while Strange is marched down to the Illuminati court wherein its founding members decide on Strange’s fate for causing a multiversal incursion. There, Strange meets Charles Xavier, Captain Carter, Blackagar Boltagon, Maria Rambeau, and Reed Richards.
Krasinski’s Reed Richards —along with some other Illuminati members — received heavy criticism from the Marvel fans. Anything from his Fantastic Four suit to Krasinki’s portrayal has been up for debate, especially since fans are able to rewatch Multiverse of Madness on Disney Plus. There appears to be a fairly even split as far as Krasinski’s Richards is concerned; there are those who love him and those who hate him and no room for any grey area at all. Funnily enough, it was actually the Marvel fans themselves that insisted on John Krasinski being cast as Reed Richards, so that plan clearly backfired.
On one hand, there are the Krasinski-Richards haters, many of whom declare him one of the “most flat, lifeless performances” they’ve ever seen. As for the Fantastic Four suit, one particular fan compared it to the two-tone blue and white fabric outfits from the 1994 Fantastic Four movie from Oley Sassone — saying that the latter had “much better costumes.”
On the other hand, there are a handful of Marvel fanatics who are completely on-board with Krasinski’s portrayal and want him to be integrated into the “main” Marvel Cinematic Universe, otherwise known as Earth-616. To some extent, fans are saying that the hate for the Fantastic Four suit is “blown completely out of proportion” and the suit is “fine” the way it is. Additionally, Krasinski’s Richards was apparently “one of the highlights” of Multiverse of Madness, one fan said.
Regardless of whether or not the Marvel community prefer Krasinski’s Richards on-screen as blue spaghetti or a central focus, only time will tell if Krasinski reprises the role for the Fantastic Four (2024) film, set to follow sequels such as Wakanda Forever (2022), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023), The Marvels (2023).
What’s your opinion on Krasinski’s Reed Richards? For a quick refresher, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is now streaming on Disney Plus.
