According to Deadline senior film reporter Justin Kroll, Daniel Craig turned down the chance to appear as Reed Richards in “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” over COVID safety concerns (via Twitter). The “Knives Out” actor had a toddler at home and didn’t want to risk her catching the virus as a result of his traveling from London just for a cameo role. However, “Heavy Spoilers” (via Murphy’s Multiverse) contradicted at least half of this claim, stating that Craig was slated to play Balder the Brave, Thor’s half brother (via Marvel).

Concept artist Darrell Warner revealed his imagining of Craig as the obscure Asgardian hero on Instagram. The caption reads, “Shame this character went no further than this watercolour | Y’all know the story and if not just go and look it up online……” This may confirm that Craig declined to play this role rather than Mister Fantastic.

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His initial “no” far from closes the door on his potential to portray the character at some point down the line, however. If Marvel Studios’ 2022 San Diego Comic-Con panel is any indication, the multiverse is only going to become more prominent as the films go on — leaving plenty of room for Craig to don his Asgardian armor.