Fantastic Four Director on if John Malkovich’s Cut Villain Will Return

The Fantastic Four: First Steps director Matt Shakman recently explained why John Malkovich‘s Ivan Kragoff / Red Ghost and a few other supervillains were left out of the theatrical cut of the film and whether those characters can return in the future. Notably, Malkovich previously worked with Shakman on the 2014 thriller Cut Bank. This played a pivotal role in the veteran actor finally agreeing to do a Marvel movie after declining the studio’s offer multiple times in the past.

Matt Shakman explains John Malkovich’s return possibility in Fantastic Four sequel

Matt Shakman spoke about why the Red Ghost, his Super-Apes team, Mad Thinker, and Puppet Master were cut from the final version of First Steps during a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly. Some of these characters, especially Malkovich’s Red Ghost, were initially part of the opening sequence of the movie, depicting the eponymous collective’s initial years as heroes.

“The opening of the movie was about trying to quickly tell people who didn’t know about the Fantastic Four and who they are and how they got to be who they are,” Shakman explained. “Quickly tell them who they are individually, what their powers are, how they got them, and how important they are to their society. They are an inspiration. They’re celebrities, they’re leaders, they’re inventors.”

The filmmaker mentioned that these omitted villains were “great characters” and could “certainly come back” in a future MCU project. Reflecting on leaving out Malkovich, a former collaborator of his, Shakman stated that the two-time Oscar nominee “did an amazing job” and “is a fantastic actor.”

The writer-director continued, “It just was such a heartbreaking thing to have to eliminate that section, but we had so much to introduce. We had so many characters to introduce this whole world, this whole other universe, and it just became too much backstory.” Shakman then proceeded to express hope that there would be “other opportunities” to include similar characters “down the road.”

The Fantastic Four: First Steps is currently playing in theaters.

Originally reported by Tamal Kundu on SuperHeroHype.

Source: Comingsoon.net