A Quiet Place and its upcoming sequel. That Jack Ryan Amazon show that nobody has ever seen. And some other things. All of what I just listed may never have happened if former The Office slacker John Krasinski had been cast as Captain America, a thing that almost happened many, many moons ago, believe it or not. Once Chris Evans was cast, though, the one-sided feud between the actors was red hot, up until recently, when Jim Halpert calmed down and admitted that, you know what, Chris did just fine in the role.
In an interview with Total Film magazine, the actor/writer/director touched on the subject of missing out on becoming the holder of America’s Ass, but now with the sage wisdom time has afforded him, saying:
“Well, I know I wouldn’t have done it as well as Chris. At least I get to see someone good do the role. I’ve actually talked to Chris about it. Not getting it is the freedom I’ve been afforded. Had I got it my directing and writing career never would have happened. Certainly A Quiet Place never would have happened had I got Captain America.”
That’s nice that John has simmered down in the interim. He’s quite the success, as well, which probably helps. I wonder if he could live off the residuals from the endless Office reruns? No idea how that works. But yeah, with the demanding, multi-picture deals that would have been in place, Krasinski definitely wouldn’t have been able to make some of the other projects we’ve seen him in lately.
But I digress. Maybe since everyone’s calmed down and Marvel is looking to expand its roster, maybe John could buckle up and start campaigning to be the new Mr. Fantastic in the inevitable Fantastic Four reboot? And why not bring Emily Blunt along, too? That’d be cute and it’s also what everyone wants.
Either way, the whole Captain America question is moot at this point. Maybe Mr. Fantastic can steal the shield from the Falcon instead?