John Malkovich Cut from 'Fantastic Four': “It Broke My Heart,” Says Director

Just days before Marvel’s Fantastic Four: First Steps hits theaters, news has emerged that legendary actor John Malkovich, who filmed scenes as the classic villain Red Ghost, has been cut entirely from the final version of the film. Despite his brief appearance in the first trailer and a major early sequence in the story, the 71-year-old actor’s role was removed due to an overcrowded script and cast.

Director Matt Shakman, speaking to Variety, explained that while creating the film’s 1960s retro-futuristic world and introducing multiple characters, difficult decisions had to be made in the editing room. “There were a lot of things that ended up getting cut,” he said. “When you’re building a whole world, introducing all the villains, and establishing the four leads both individually and as a group, you have to make room somehow.”

Malkovich’s Red Ghost was initially featured in a flashback sequence detailing the early years of the superhero team’s formation. In the original comics, the Red Ghost is one of the first villains the Fantastic Four ever faced. But due to the complexity of the storyline and the ensemble cast, the scenes didn’t make the final cut.

Shakman’s disappointment was personal as well as professional. Malkovich played a key role in Shakman’s debut film, Cut Bank (2014), and the two have shared a close creative bond since. “John stayed loyal to that project for years,” the director said. “He never walked away.”

Removing Malkovich’s scenes was, according to Shakman, one of the hardest decisions of the production. “He gave a brilliant performance and put his whole heart into it,” he said. “It was heartbreaking not to include him in the final cut. John is one of the people I love most and one of my biggest inspirations, as a stage and film actor, as a director, and as a true artist.”

Despite the setback, Fantastic Four: First Steps features an impressive lineup. Pedro Pascal stars as Reed Richards, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm (Invisible Woman), Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm (Human Torch), and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm (The Thing). The story, set in the 1960s, follows the quartet as they face off against Galactus (played by Ralph Ineson) and his formidable enforcer, the Silver Surfer, portrayed by Julia Garner.

Also joining the ensemble cast are Natasha Lyonne, Paul Walter Hauser, Mark Gatiss, and Sarah Niles, promising a rich, character-driven reboot of Marvel’s founding superhero team, albeit without Malkovich’s anticipated villainous turn.