Most of the time, a director's original vision for a superhero film differs from the final cut that audiences watch in theaters. On some occasions, this change is so big that the director takes his disappointment to social media and claims that we'll never see the fantastic vision he had for Marvel's First Family in the Fox Universe. But most of the time, it comes down to making small tweaks to ensure a movie is the best it can be, and that audiences receive it with open arms. Well, the next big project in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is no different.
The superhero giant is ready for liftoff. In just a few weeks, the Fantastic Four will have their MCU debut, and expectations are at an all-time high. Not only is the film meant to be a stand-alone adventure featuring a more-than-iconic ensemble of heroes, but it's one of Marvel's last chances of setting up their biggest crossover to date, Avengers: Doomsday. As such, fans are eager to discover what surprises are in store and which characters will be positioned to take the spotlight later down the line.
Unfortunately, director Matt Shakman's original vision for the film will be slightly different than the cut we'll get to see, as it has been revealed that a character was removed from the upcoming adventure altogether.
John Malkovich's Red Ghost cut from The Fantastic Four: First Steps
John Malkovich's history with Marvel projects has been pretty complicated. He was originally supposed to bring the Vulture to life in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 4, but the movie was ultimately cancelled in favor of The Amazing Spider-Man reboot. With that in mind, The Fantastic Four: First Steps was meant to be his chance at redemption, as he was originally cast in an undisclosed role.
Speculation about Malkovich's MCU participation grew rampant, and theories indicated he could portray no shortage of characters — from Mole Man all the way to Reed Richards' dad, Nathaniel Richards. The good news? We finally know he was supposed to bring the supervillain Red Ghost to life in The Fantastic Four: First Steps. The bad part? The character was cut from the movie altogether, as revealed by director Matt Shakman during an interview with 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. It was heartbreaking not to include [John] in the final version of the movie because he’s one of my very favorite humans and one of my biggest inspirations."
Back in May, AMC Theaters listed The Fantastic Four: First Steps' runtime at 2 hours and 10 minutes. However, the film's updated runtime clocks in at 1 hour and 55 minutes. That means there are 15 minutes worth of cut footage, and John Malkovich's Red Ghost, unfortunately, falls under them. According to Matt Shakman, Red Ghost would've appeared during one of the movie's first sequences, which showed Marvel's First Family's early years as a team fighting against many iconic villains.
Fans started speculating that John Malkovich's character was cut when his name was nowhere to be seen in the movie's cast listing, which was published in an official Walt Disney Company press release. Now, those suspicions have become a reality. While it's sad to know we won't get to see Red Ghost in action, it's also reassuring that Matt Shakman doesn't want his upcoming project to feel crowded — a problem that has ended entire superhero franchises before (looking at you, The Amazing Spider-Man 2).
On the bright side, it's been reported that Marvel is already planning a sequel to The Fantastic Four: First Steps. So, there's still a slight chance that Red Ghost can have his theatrical debut in the upcoming years. We'd just have to wait a bit longer for that day to come.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps will be released on Jul. 25, 2025.