Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness wasn’t just our first opportunity to explore other realities in the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise following the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home bringing in familiar faces from the previous Spider-Man film series. It also marked the official introduction of the Fantastic Four mythology into the MCU thanks to John Krasinski’s Reed Richards, a.k.a. Mister Fantastic, a member of Earth-838’s Illuminati. As it turns out though, that wasn’t the only Fantastic Four-related element in Multiverse of Madness, because a device Krasinski’s version of Mister Fantastic used comes from Doctor Doom, the superhero team’s arch-nemesis.
In addition to Disney+ subscribers now being able to stream Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, the Marvel movie is also available to buy digitally, and among the special features included is an audio commentary track that includes producer Richie Palmer. Here’s what Palmer had to say when John Krasinski’s Mister Fantastic entered the scene during Multiverse of Madness (via The Direct):
It’s exciting that costume designed by Ryan Meinerding is a really special treat. The detail of the teleportation device he uses to get into the scene is something we took from the comics, that’s Doctor Doom’s Time Platform.
Doctor Doom’s Time Platform debuted in the same issue the supervillain did, 1962’s Fantastic Four #5. Along with the basic teleportation function Earth-838’s Mister Fantastic showed off, the comics version of the Time Platform, as the name indicates, allows its operator to travel into the past, like when Doom kidnapped Sue Storm, a.k.a. the Invisible Woman, and transported the two of them to the early 18th century. It’s unclear if the Time Platform used in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness specifically had time travel capabilities, including the possibility of traveling to the future. Richie Palmer also didn’t clear up if John Krasinski’s Mister Fantastic acquired the Time Platform from Earth-838’s Doctor Doom or designed it himself.
Given that John Krasinski’s Mister Fantastic was brutally murdered by Elizabeth Olsen’s Scarlet Witch from the main MCU reality, along with almost all the other Illuminati members, don’t expect any addition information about Earth-838’s Time Platform to be divulged in upcoming Marvel movies. But we still have yet to meet the Fantastic Four of Earth-616 (which is what the main MCU reality has been classified, just like the primary Marvel Comics’ universe), and while we won’t necessarily meet him right away like we did in the previous Fantastic Four film series, there’s a decent chance we’ll see Doctor Doom. Giving this version of Doom his own Time Platform could be one of the ways to distinguish him from his cinematic predecessors.
It was officially announced at the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con that a Fantastic Four reboot is in development, and in December 2020, Jon Watts was revealed as its director. However, back in late April, Watts stepped away from Fantastic Four, saying that he needed to take a break from the superhero genre after helming the Tom Holland-led Spider-Man movies. The wait continues to learn who will take Watts’ place to direct Fantastic Four, and it also remains to be seen if John Krasinski will reprise Mister Fantastic in the movie or if another actor will be hired. After all, as we saw in Spider-Man: No Way Home with the three versions of Peter Parker, not all counterparts from other universes need to look alike or be the same age.
CinemaBlend will share any major news items about the Fantastic Four reboot as they come in, but fans of the MCU can look forward to Thor: Love and Thunder as this franchise’s next theatrical outing starting on July 8. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will be available to buy on Blu-ray, Ultra HD Blu-ray and DVD on July 26.
