John Krasinski Teases ‘Fantastic Four’ Reed Richards Casting After ‘Deadpool 3’ News

Lots of Marvel Cinematic Universe news and teasers this afternoon.

First, Ryan Reynolds revealed not only the release date for Deadpool 3, but the return of Hugh Jackman as Wolverine.

Then, Office star and Multiverse Of Madness alum John Krasinski entered the fray:

This, of course, could be taken as a teaser for Krasinski’s return to the MCU as Fantastic Four leader, Reed Richards, a casting choice fans have been clamoring for long before he took on that role in Multiverse (where he plays Richards in an alternative universe). Certainly many excited fans on Twitter flipped out at the tweet, excitedly hoping to learn that the actor had been cast in the role.

Then again, it could also just be a joke, given the actor and director is working with Reynolds on his upcoming fantasy comedy If:

I haven’t really heard of this film yet, but it sounds pretty cool and I’m a huge fan of Krasinski’s directorial debut, A Quiet Place.

Oh man, what a cast! I love Phoebe Waller-Bridge!

Of course, it could also be both. Maybe Krasinski wants to play Reed Richards or maybe he doesn’t. Maybe there’s a bunch of discussions and negotiations going on behind the scenes. Frankly, I’m not sure why Marvel would cast anybody else in the role at this point given how badly the fandom wants him to play the part. Anyone else will always be viewed as the not-Krasinski option—and that’s never any fun.

Who can say? Paul Tassi reported not long ago that the casting choice for Multiverse was essentially only because it was an alternative universe, but he also noted that any other casting choice will confuse and upset fans at this point especially now that he’s donned the costume in the MCU already. And most other “alternative universe” characters in the MCU are still played by the same actors, including Doctor Strange. It wasn’t like Danny DeVito played Strange in Universe #7854 or whatever.

We shall see.