US EditionFantastic Four: First Steps Will No Longer Feature John Malkovich as Red Ghost, Director Says
LOS ANGELES, USA, JUL 16 – Director Matt Shakman said John Malkovich’s scenes as Red Ghost were cut to maintain story balance and pacing in the ensemble Marvel film, despite his praised performance.
- Director Matt Shakman confirmed that John Malkovich’s performance as Ivan Kragoff, the Red Ghost, was cut from The Fantastic Four: First Steps ahead of its July 25, 2025 release.
- Shakman explained the film’s retro-futurist 1960s setting and complex story forced cuts, including Malkovich’s scenes, to shape the movie’s final version.
- Although fans glimpsed Malkovich in the February teaser trailer, his role was removed because the extended Red Ghost sequence did not serve the overall narrative.
- Shakman praised Malkovich as a brilliant actor and one of his greatest inspirations, expressing how painful it was to leave him out of the final edit.
- The film will premiere on July 21, 2025, in Los Angeles and open in theaters on July 25, introducing key characters while excluding Red Ghost and Malkovich’s performance.
40 Articles
40 Articles
Fantastic Four: First Steps director reveals why Marvel villain's role was cut from final film
These days, so many big names have appeared in the MCU that it's easier to keep track of which major actors haven't been involved – and new release The Fantastic Four: First Steps adds several more to the fold, notably including Pedro Pascal and Vanessa Kirby.But one star who won't be involved, despite previously being announced as part of the cast, is John Malkovich.It was earlier reported that Malkovich would be taking on the role of comic boo…
John Malkovich Getting Cut From 'Fantastic Four' Hints at MCU's Bigger Issues
James Gunn has made it well known that new DCU movies and shows won't be made unless they have a completed script first. He's so insistent on this that he recently claimed the movie industry is dying because movies are... Read more...
John Malkovich’s supervillain role cut from Fantastic Four, echoing how Marvel axed him from Spider-Man 4
“Malkovich, Malkovich. Malkovich? Malkovich!” is what no one will be saying at Marvel Studios’ premiere of the upcoming Fantastic Four: First Steps. Director Matt Shakman confirmed to Variety on Wednesday that the legendary character actor, who was slated to appear as the cosmonaut supervillain Red Ghost, has been cut from the completed movie. The slight against Malkovich-heads arrives 15 years after plans for Spider-Man 4, in which Sam Raimi ho…
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