John Malkovich has been removed from the cast of Fantastic Four: First Steps, where he was to portray the Red Ghost, also known as Ivan Kragoff. The character was intended to feature in a substantial segment highlighting the team’s early adventures. Director Matt Shakman noted that several elements were ultimately cut to streamline the film, emphasizing the need to balance numerous characters and plot points. He expressed disappointment about cutting Malkovich, especially given their previous collaboration on Cut Bank. Fans will still see Malkovich in the teaser until a potential director’s cut is released.
According to Shakman, the character and his Super-Apes were meant to feature in a lengthy segment showing the Fantastic Four's pre-plot adventures. Despite saying that Malkovich 'was brilliant in it, and gave it his all,' Shakman said, 'There were a lot of things that ultimately ended up hitting the cutting room floor.'
Shakman explained that when they were building a '60s retro-future world, introducing all of these villains, introducing these four main characters... 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.
The director added it was 'heartbreaking' to cut Malkovich, especially since the two worked together on the filmmaker's 2014 feature debut, Cut Bank. Fans got their only glimpse of Malkovich in the first teaser.
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