New Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness fan art imagines original Mr. Fantastic actor Ioan Gruffudd as part of the Illuminati team. The 2022 Marvel Cinematic Universe movie explored the possibilities of the multiverse with Benedict Cumberbatch's Doctor Strange and Elizabeth Olsen's Scarlet Witch. One of the key sequences in Doctor Strange 2 to take advantage of the multiverse came when Strange and America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez) went to Earth-838 and encountered the superhero team, the Illuminati. Marvel used it as an opportunity to include some massive cameos from past Marvel actors and show variants of others.
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Doctor Strange 2's Illuminati team was led by Patrick Stewart's Professor X, allowing the X-Men star to return but with some elements from X-Men: The Animated Series incorporated into this variant of Charles Xavier. Audiences also saw Hayley Atwell's Peggy Carter return to the MCU and be Captain Carter, while Lashana Lynch's Maria Rambeau also appeared as Captain Marvel. The Illuminati team also surprisingly featured Inhumans star Anson Mount as Black Bolt. The big surprise, though, was John Krasinski playing Mr. Fantastic to make the popular fan-casting come true, even if it was only for a cameo.
A new piece of fan art for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness takes John Krasinski out of the Mr. Fantastic role and replaces him with Fantastic 4 star Gruffudd. The art by bobby_art on Instagram imagines a world where Marvel Studios brought Gruffudd back to play Reed Richards in Phase 4. Gruffudd previously played Mr. Fantastic in Fox's Fantastic Four franchise, which ended with Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer in 2007. The art ages Gruffudd up and put a bit more gray in his hair, but he remains in the redesigned suit Krasinski wore.
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Although John Krasinski is the internet's popular choice to play Reed Richards in the MCU, his debut in Doctor Strange 2 proved to be a bit divisive. His casting has become a bit more confusing as time goes on. Krasinski already stood out a bit among Doctor Strange 2's Illuminati cast members as being the only one never to play their character before. Gruffudd and Miles Teller both previously played Mr. Fantastic outside the MCU, so either of them would have made more sense with the lineup Marvel chose.
Based on the other characters assembled, it would have been fun to see Gruffudd play Mr. Fantastic in Doctor Strange 2. The cameo would have given him a chance to return to his Marvel role almost exactly 15 years after he last played Reed Richards. It is unknown if Marvel ever approached Gruffudd to make such a cameo, though. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness might not have included him, but Gruffudd's Mr. Fantastic could still join the MCU through Fantastic 4, Avengers: Secret Wars, or another multiverse-related project, perhaps.