The Marvel hero we've been longing for is coming back, reports say

There is simply no refuting the fact that the possibilities in the Marvel Cinematic Universe are quite frankly endless. The franchise was always known for pushing boundaries, but that has been taken to a whole new level since it began telling the story of the Multiverse Saga as this has allowed it to push the boundaries of not just one fictional world, but countless.

Did you ever think you would see Patrick Stewart returning as Professor X in an MCU movie? What about Hugh Jackman making that long-awaited comeback as Wolverine, seven years after retiring the character? Long-time fan-cast actor John Krasinski actually getting to play the Fantastic Four's Reed Richards for a hot minute in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness? Yeah, Marvel Studios has gone all out this saga. And it isn't over yet.

There are still plenty of major titles coming up in which we could see more surprises from across the reaches of the multiverse, and now a new report claims that this could be happening much sooner than we anticipated.

Ioan Gruffudd rumored to appear as Reed Richards in The Fantastic Four: First Steps

According to Marvel scooper account Marvel Updates, Ioan Gruffudd could reprise his role as Reed Richards, a.k.a. Mr. Fantastic, in the upcoming MCU film The Fantastic Four: First Steps. The report claims that the Council of Reeds will appear in the film and that Gruffudd was actually the mystery person who appeared in a censored photo with star Pedro Pascal at the wrap party for the movie.

Of course, the only people who know whether this is actually true or not are the cast, crew, and Marvel Studios themselves, so it has to be classed as a rumor for now, but if we do acknowledge it for a moment, it sounds pretty exciting and would be just another indicator of just how ambitious the upcoming film is shaping up to be.

Pascal portrays the character of Reed Richards / Mr. Fantastic in this film and, although reports claim that the film is set in an alternate universe from the MCU, he is expected to become the MCU's primary version of that character. That said, the Council of Reeds is an interdimensional council in Marvel Comics, which consists of various versions of Reed Richards from across the multiverse. Given that Reed himself is often referred to as "The Smartest Man Alive", imagine what countless versions of him could do. That would also present the MCU with a pathway to include Gruffudd's version of the character (and perhaps even Miles Tellar and John Krasinski's portrayals, too).

Gruffudd played Richards in 2005's Fantastic Four and its 2007 sequel Rise of the Silver Surfer. The cast did sign a three-movie deal but, in spite of the second movie's success, the studio considered it an underperformance and opted to reboot the franchise instead. That would be a poor decision as it would eventually spawn 2015's critically-reviled Fant4stic (which Tellar co-starred in). That film flopped at the box office and, eventually, Marvel Studios regained the rights and planned the quartet of superheroes' introduction into the MCU.

While the two 2000s Fantastic Four movies aren't particularly critical classics, fans are rather fond of them and the cast have remained the definitive versions of the characters. With Chris Evans reprising his role as Johnny Storm, a.k.a. the Human Torch, in Deadpool and Wolverine and rumors of Jessica Alba appearing as Sue Storm in Avengers: Doomsday or Avengers: Secret Wars, it would be pretty apt if Gruffudd and Michael Chiklis got a chance to reprise their respective roles as Reed Richards and Ben Grimm, a.k.a. The Thing, before the end of the Multiverse Saga.

Anything is possible in the MCU. And Reed Richards of the 2000s appearing as part of the Council of Reeds in The Fantastic Four: First Steps is certainly something that the Multiverse Saga could pull off.