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It looks like John Malkovich will have to wait for another shot at his Marvel debut. Variety confirms that the “In the Line of Fire” star has been left on the cutting room floor of “The Fantastic Four: First Steps.”
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Variety reports that Malkovich had been cast as The Red Ghost, one of the Fantastic Four’s earliest villains. Malkovich would have appeared in a part of the film that showcased the heroes’ earliest bad guys, including the Red Ghost and his Super-Apes.
John Malkovich attends the Los Angeles Premiere of A24’s “OPUS” at The Egyptian Theatre Hollywood on February 19, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. John Malkovich attends the Los Angeles Premiere of A24’s “OPUS” at The Egyptian Theatre Hollywood on February 19, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images
While this is the first time it’s been confirmed, it’s been long suspected Malkovich was playing the Red Ghost based on his look in the first “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” teaser.
There have also been growing rumors that Malkovich was being cut from the film, based on his absence in promotional material except for the aforementioned teaser.
“There were a lot of things that ultimately ended up hitting the cutting room floor,” director Matt Shakman told Variety.
“When we were building a ’60s retro-future world, introducing all of these villains, introducing these four main characters as a group, as well as individually, introducing the idea of a child — there was a lot of stuff to balance in this movie and some things had to go ultimately in terms of shaping the film for its final version.”
Cutting Malkovich out of the film was particularly painful for Shakman because he has a history with the “Opus” star. Malkovich starred in Shakman’s feature directorial debut, “Cut Bank.”
“It was heartbreaking not to include him in the final version of the movie because he’s one of my very favorite humans and one of my biggest inspirations,” Shakman said.
“As a person who walks the line between theater and film and television, there’s no one who is more inspiring than the founder of Steppenwolf Theater Company.”
“What he’s done on stage as an actor and what he’s done as a director in theater as well as in film, and as just a film actor of incredible ability — I was honored he came to play.”
“The Fantastic Four: First Steps” releases in theaters July 25. The film is directed by Matt Shakman. It stars Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Paul Walter Hauser, Natasha Lyonne, Julia Garner, Ralph Ineson, Mark Gatiss, and Sarah Niles
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