‘Fantastic Four: The First Steps’ Director Reveals Big Star’s Role Was Totally Cut from the Movie: “Some Things Had to Go”

John Malkovich will no longer appear in the upcoming Marvel movie “The Fantastic Four: First Steps.” Director Matt Shakman confirmed the news, just days before the film’s release on July 25. Months of fan theories and online guesses about Malkovich’s secret character were all for nothing in the end.

Last year, Marvel fans were excited when Malkovich, known from movies like “Being John Malkovich” and “Burn After Reading,” joined the cast of the new Fantastic Four film. However, Marvel never said who he would play.

Now, it’s been revealed that Malkovich was supposed to play Red Ghost, a lesser-known villain from old Marvel comics. But his role has been completely removed from the final version of the movie.

Director Matt Shakman told reporters that cutting Malkovich from the movie was a difficult choice. “There was a lot of stuff to balance in this movie, and some things had to go… It was heartbreaking not to include him.” Shakman said in a statement.

It’s not clear how much Malkovich actually filmed or how much of Red Ghost was in earlier versions of the movie. Fans did catch a glimpse of the character in an early trailer, but he won’t appear in the final film.

“The Fantastic Four: First Steps” focuses on the superhero team as they get ready for big life changes. Sue Storm, played by Vanessa Kirby, and Reed Richards, played by Pedro Pascal, are expecting their first baby, Franklin.

But while their family grows, trouble arrives from outer space. The Silver Surfer, played by Julia Garner, shows up to warn them about Galactus, a giant cosmic being who eats planets. Galactus, played by Ralph Ineson, threatens to destroy Earth. Together with Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) and Johnny Storm (Joseph Quinn), the Fantastic Four must save their world and protect their unborn child.

Red Ghost, the villain Malkovich was set to play, first showed up in a 1963 comic called “Fantastic Four #13.” He’s a Soviet scientist named Ivan Kragoff, who tried to beat Reed Richards in the race to the moon. Kragoff took three trained monkeys into space with him, hoping to become a hero of the Soviet Union.

Like the Fantastic Four, Kragoff and his monkeys were hit by cosmic rays, giving them strange powers. Kragoff, now called Red Ghost, gained the ability to become invisible and intangible, while his monkeys gained superpowers of their own. In the comics, Red Ghost and his “Super-Apes” acted as dark opposites to the Fantastic Four.

Malkovich wasn’t the only actor in the movie whose role was kept a mystery. Paul Walter Hauser, Natasha Lyonne, and Sarah Niles were also added to the cast without their characters being named. A recent prequel comic called “The Fantastic Four: First Steps #1” suggested that Hauser will be playing Mole Man, another classic villain from the comics.

While Red Ghost has roots in the Fantastic Four’s early adventures, he’s not as popular or famous as villains like Mole Man or Annihilus. Many fans had guessed Malkovich would play Puppet Master, a different character connected to Ben Grimm’s girlfriend. The choice of Red Ghost surprised fans, and now they won’t even get to see him in this movie.

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