WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for director John Krasinski’s A Quiet Place, in theaters now.
Though the Fox acquisition by Disney is not yet finalized, fans are eager to see the Fantastic Four finally become part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. With director Tim Story's two movies and the disastrous reboot by Josh Trank out the way, fan's hope Marvel Studios will finally do right by the franchise.
But until Marvel makes it official, all we can do is speculate as to the plot and who we'd like to see cast as Marvel's First Family. And we're not alone; during A Quiet Place's press circuit, director and star John Krasinski expressed interest in taking on the role of Reed Richards (Mister Fantastic), with his real-life wife Emily Blunt as Sue Storm (the Invisible Woman).
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Judging by their performances as husband and wife in a post-apocalyptic world overrun by aliens, they're pretty much perfect to lead Marvel's First Family on-screen.
In A Quiet Place, Krasinski shapes a near-future where humanity has been ravaged by blind creatures that stalk their prey via hyper-sensitive hearing. It's up to him as Lee Abbott, and Blunt as Evelyn Abbott, to look after their two kids, Marcus (Noah Jupe) and Reagan (Millicent Simmonds) on an isolated farm. To ensure his family's survival, Lee basically exhibits all the qualities of Reed Richards, albeit without the blue-clad hero's elastic superpowers.
His genius as an inventor, and more so, an innovator, protects his family while allowing them some semblance of a normal life. Given that they have to live in near silence, Lee lines walkways with sand to pad his family's footsteps; he builds intricate silent alarm systems using red lights so as to warn when creatures are near; he uses grain silos and fireworks as a contingency plan to lure the monsters away; he teaches Marcus key information about using louder sounds as a self-defense mechanism to trick the predators; and then there's his masterpiece -- a soundproofed room which he builds for his pregnant wife, along with a homemade incubator to muffle the baby's cries.
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As for Evelyn, she displays the same maternal genius and strength that Sue does. She adapts little things for the family so they don't feel totally restricted, such as making sure they have dinners together, but with no silverware or plates; she has them eating with their hands and leaves in order to avoid clattering sounds; she doesn't use a washer or dryer, tending instead to the laundry by hand. Lastly, she ensures the kids have recreation time via board games, but with pieces made from felt or wool.
In essence, both show a parental instinct in this film that echoes what we've seen in the comics with Reed and Sue looking after their kids, Franklin and Valeria. Lee and Evelyn are very similar in that they're just as much about emotions and love, as they are about science and sound logic in this desolate world. And when they do shed this warmth and care, both can physically scrap to save the youngsters, whether it's Lee with an axe or Evelyn with a shotgun.
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The overall comparison to Reed and Sue comes full-circle in the movie's finale, where Lee sacrifices himself in order for the kids to escape a vicious attack. It's selfless, and such a Reed Richards move, as he lets them know via sign language how much he loves them, and that they need to be strong and protect their mom who just gave birth.
At the end, the Reed parallel stands tall due to Lee's most important invention proving to be the trump card in the war. The cochlear implant he's obsessed with perfecting for the deaf Raegan emits a frequency that she and Evelyn realize leaves the creatures vulnerable. They then attach the device to a loudspeaker, amplifying the frequency for the swarm of monsters descending upon them. However, despite Lee being dead, Evelyn is ready to finish things, armed with her shotgun and ready to kill off the invaders.
It's a truly fantastic finish as we see that Krasinski and Blunt's characters may not have just saved their family, but humanity on the whole. With the duo's charisma and chemistry on-screen, and their passion as a real-life family bleeding into this film, they really come off as superheroic parents that sacrifice and triumph in the face of adversity. If that doesn't scream Mr. and Mrs. Fantastic, then really, what does?
In theaters nationwide, A Quiet Place is co-written and directed John Krasinski, who stars alongside Emily Blunt, Noah Jupe, Millicent Simmonds and Cade Woodward.