John Krasinski has hidden three secret messages in his new movie that most people are unlikely to spot
John Krasinski's latest directorial feature is here, and once again he kept his family in mind throughout the whole process.
But unlike the surprising revelation that Krasinski made A Quiet Place - a terrifying alien movie - for his family, the colorful, delightful scenes and wonderful creatures in IF actually do ooze 'family-friendly'.
Starring 17-year-old Cailey Fleming, the movie follows the story of a young girl named Bea who, despite going through a tough time, is reminded that you're never too old to be a kid.
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Coming off the back of four years on The Walking Dead, Fleming joined Krasinski in the move from dark to lighter content as she told UNILAD IF is the 'only' real child-friendly project she's worked on so far.
"This was absolutely my dream project," she said. "I was actually going to take a break from acting, but thank God I didn't because I wouldn't have had this."
Fleming plays Krasinski's daughter in the movie, while Ryan Reynolds stars opposite her as a seemingly pessimistic upstairs neighbor tasked with looking after the IFs - imaginary friends - who have been left behind by their kids.
As Bea gets immersed in the world of IFs, we're introduced to a whole host of sentient animals, objects, and mythical creatures voiced by a star-studded cast including Krasinski's former co-star Steve Carell, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Blake Lively, Matt Damon, Maya Rudolph and many more.
"I will never have a better cast," Krasinski admitted. "And I'll never have a cast say 'yes' that fast again. I know that.
"They said that they really felt the message of the movie and they loved the idea of what the movie was talking about, of reclaiming your childhood, reclaiming your imagination and also putting something good out in the world. And so they were all on board... Everybody crushed it."
The admiration goes both ways, as Waller-Bridge and Fiona Hope, who actually appears on-screen in IF, credited Krasinski with being the reason for their involvement.
"The idea alone is just so magical," Waller-Bridge said. "He has so much heart, and he really means it, and I just knew this film was going to be something so magical and I'm so pleased to be a part of it."
Krasinski's wife, Emily Blunt, has her own role as an IF in the film, but that wasn't the only way the Office star managed to incorporate his family into his creation.
"There's a lot of Easter Eggs of my life in there," he revealed.
Krasinski pointed to three secret messages in particular - things everyone watching the film will notice, but only his family would know the meaning behind.
The first two Easter Eggs come in the form of IFs - specifically a pink alligator and a burning marshmallow with a habit of having one eye melt down its face.
"Both of my kids' IFs are in the movie," Krasinski explained. "So Ali, the pink alligator, and the marshmallow - which is so much fun because [my daughter's] so empathetic that we were making s'mores one day and the marshmallow - of course, they all do - it caught on fire. And she was so destroyed. She was so sad. And I went 'oh, no, that's what he does. He just lights himself on fire and he turns himself off. He'll be fine.'
"She went 'Oh, really?' And she loved that idea that the marshmallow could turn itself on fire and turn it off."
The third and final message to his family comes in the inclusion of a Tina Turner song featured in the movie.
Krasinski explained: "I chose that song because my mom and I used to listen to tons of music together. And she's a big fan of Tina Turner's and I remember dancing in the kitchen for Tina Turner. So I threw Tina Turner in there for my mom."
The release of IF comes as Krasinski hands the reigns of A Quiet Place over to director Michael Sarnoski for the upcoming prequel A Quiet Place: Day One - a movie Krasinski has described as 'amazing' - and as Reynolds prepares to return to the role of Deadpool.
Both Krasinski and Fleming are keen to work with Reynolds again in the future though; they just need him to slot them in.
"I think we'd all be lucky to work with Ryan again," Krasinski said. "He's so busy. Whenever he can slot us in, we will be there."
Krasinski really did create a dream team for IF, and it's safe to say there's nothing imaginary about just how magic it turned out to be.
Topics: John Krasinski, Ryan Reynolds, Emily Blunt, Film and TV
Emily Brown