John Malkovich won’t be suiting up for the next big Marvel blockbuster.
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The veteran actor will no longer portray Ivan Kragoff, also known as the Red Ghost, in Marvel Studios’ The Fantastic Four: First Steps.
“It was heartbreaking not to include [Malkovich] in the final version of the movie because he’s one of my very favorite humans and one of my biggest inspirations,” the film’s director, Matt Shakman, recently told Variety. “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.”
According to Variety, Malkovich was to appear early in The Fantastic Four during a sequence showing the family’s early superhero years, including a fight against the Red Ghost and his Super-Apes. The first teaser trailer even shows a quick glimpse of Malkovich in character. Director Shakman told the outlet that the actor “was brilliant in it, and gave it his all.”
Why John Malkovich was Cut From The Fantastic Four: First Steps
The filmmakers realized that Malkovich’s appearance didn’t fit the story, which features a large cast, including Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm, Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm, and others. The plot begins years into the Fantastic Four’s superhero lives, as Reed and Sue welcome their first child.
“There were a lot of things that ultimately ended up hitting the cutting room floor,” Shakman explained. “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.”
Meanwhile, cutting the veteran actor from the film was no small thing for Shakman. Malkovich helped solidify the director’s career just over a decade ago.
The director worked with John Malkovich on his 2014 debut film, Cut Bank. Despite years of struggling to secure financing, Malkovich’s commitment to the project never wavered, helping bring the film to life.
The Fantastic Four will also feature Paul Walter Hauser as early Marvel villain the Mole Man, Julia Garner as the Silver Surfer, and Ralph Ineson as Galactus. The film hits theaters on Friday.