What John Krasinski Would Look Like As Reed Richards In The Fantastic Four

Disney's 2020 Investor Day was chock-full of unbelievably exciting announcements from all corners of the House of Mouse, whose executives heralded details of sequels to beloved franchises, new projects entirely, and the ever-risky prospect of reboots. The hype isn't going to die down for a while — especially in the midst of COVID-19, when good news is great news — and indeed, fans are abuzz with speculative energy. What's going to happen in X movie? Will they finally do justice to the Y franchise? Will Z play this fan-favorite character?

In the case of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's reboot of The Fantastic Four, fans are as pumped as they are worried, since Marvel's First Family hasn't been handled well in the past. Yet, it seems as if hope is outweighing despair, as fans are wasting no time wondering how the four legendary heroes will be incorporated into the MCU — and, of course, who will play them. (No, Chris Evans won't be returning as Human Torch. But he has talked about a Captain America/Human Torch team-up. Hmm.)

John Krasinski, best known as Jim Halpert from The Office and as the director and star of A Quiet Place, has long been many fans' choice for team leader Reed Richards, aka Mr. Fantastic. Funnily enough, he auditioned for the role of Captain America more than a decade ago, and nobody's saying he can't still play an alternate universe version of that character. But as far as Mr. Fantastic goes, he's certainly not opposed to the role — he "would love" it, in fact. Digital artist Mizuri wanted to see what that would look like, and so they made the magic happen.

Richards is one of the busiest heroes in Marvel Comics – always inventing something in the Baxter Building, traveling to and from dimensions, and helping his wife Sue Storm (aka Invisible Woman) raise their children. It was hard to blame the man, then, when he gave up on shaving and let the beard come out — a beard not unlike Krasinski's. Mizuri's art takes full advantage of the similarity, and the results are striking.

"Really excited to hear that the Fantastic Four are gonna be joining the MCU," the artist captioned their creations, two photos shared on Instagram in a carousel post. "A lot of people want to see [Krasinski] as Mr Fantastic, including me!" That excitement is channeled directly into the artwork; anyone unaware of the fact that Krasinski hasn't actually played the character would be easily fooled into thinking it's real. The classic Fantastic Four outfit looks entirely natural on him.

Until casting is confirmed, fans will continue pining for Krasinski as Richards. And there are still three other team members to think about, including Richards' wife Sue Storm — not to mention side characters (like Alicia Masters) and villains (Dr. Doom, anyone?). All fans really want, though, is for the franchise to finally escape the cinematic Negative Zone. Time will tell whether Marvel Studios has what it takes to pull it off.