We're living in an era where the wildest movie and TV crossovers of all time can take place and easily be explained away by one simple concept: The Multiverse. The multiverse has been a constant of comics for decades, allowing for different versions of the same characters (alongside many different ones) to interact with each other for special crossovers and events, and it was perfectly acceptable as readers consumed them with glee.
DC brought the concept to the screen a decade ago with the Arrowverse series The Flash on The CW before doing the same on the silver screen with The Flash movie. Now, Marvel Studios is doing it - and has been since the franchise's Multiverse Saga launched back in 2021, allowing them to bring Marvel heroes, both from this era and the previous ones, together on the big screen.
With Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars on the horizon, there are plenty of opportunities for more crossovers, meaning that we could see some classic Marvel actors appear. However, one legendary performer reveals that he has not been invited.
Fantastic Four legend Ioan Gruffudd says he hasn't been invited to return in Avengers: Doomsday
Ioan Gruffudd would definitely be up for a fantastic return in the Marvel Cinematic Universe... even if he hasn't been asked yet. During a recent appearance at Liverpool Comic-Con, the legendary actor was asked by a fan (TikTok user kylo_hd659) about whether he would be appearing in Avengers: Doomsday, he shook his head and said: "No, I haven't been invited". The good news is that he is still open to the possibility if it presents itself to him, saying that if he was invited, he would be there "in a heartbeat".
Of course, there is the possibility that he could appear in the film in some capacity anyway. We know from previous Marvel movies that any returning actor can't outright tell people about their comebacks beforehand (remember Andrew Garfield constantly denying his involvement in Spider-Man: No Way Home despite leaked shots appearing to confirm he was in it?). But until the movie - or its sequel, 2027's Avengers: Secret Wars - is released in theaters, we won't know for sure whether Gruffudd is in the films or not.
The veteran performer portrayed Reed Richards, a.k.a. Mister Fantastic, in the classic Fantastic Four movies, beginning with the first film in 2005 and returning for 2007 sequel Rise of the Silver Surfer. Both were successful and a third was in the works at one point in time, but due to the slight underperformance of the second, it eventually morphed into a reboot instead - the disastrous 2015 reboot that was a critical and commercial failure (and is widely regarded as one of the worst superhero movies of all time).
The Fantastic Four are set to make their MCU debut this summer in the upcoming The Fantastic Four: First Steps. Pedro Pascal steps into the role of Reed Richards, but he will be the second actor to portray the character in an MCU movie. John Krasinski made a cameo appearance as Mister Fantastic in 2022's Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, bringing a long-standing fan-casting to life for a few short minutes.
Rumor has it that the upcoming Avengers movies might tackle the Council of Reeds, allowing for a multitude of Reed Richards from across the multiverse to appear, which would open up the possibility for Gruffudd to make a cameo appearance. That's one of the reasons why he has been rumored to make an appearance in Doomsday and / or Secret Wars for some time now. The other is down to the fact that Chris Evans, who portrayed the Johnny Storm, a.k.a. Human Torch, in the classic Fantastic Four movies, recently made his return to the role in 2024's Deadpool and Wolverine (with rumors that he might return again in Avengers: Doomsday). Jessica Alba, who played Sue Storm, a.k.a. the Invisible Woman, has also been rumored for an appearance in one of the two films.
Taking all of that into account, Ioan Gruffudd could still appear in Avengers: Doomsday as Reed Richards simply because the Multiverse Saga allows for anything to happen. The fact that the stars of Fox's X-Men movies are appearing in the super-sized film does suggest that the actors from Fox's Fantastic Four movies could do the same. But in the meantime, we should take the star at his word (and secretly hope that he's trying to pull the wool over our eyes, because more of his Reed Richards would be very welcome indeed).
Avengers: Doomsday arrives in movie theaters on May 1, 2026.