{"id":42299,"date":"2025-07-28T09:36:11","date_gmt":"2025-07-28T09:36:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/42299\/"},"modified":"2025-07-28T09:36:11","modified_gmt":"2025-07-28T09:36:11","slug":"matt-shakman-on-the-cut-fantastic-four-villain-fans-will-never-see","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/42299\/","title":{"rendered":"Matt Shakman on the Cut Fantastic Four Villain Fans Will Never See"},"content":{"rendered":"

As first revealed in November 2024<\/a>, John Malkovich was cast in The Fantastic Four: First Steps as Marvel Comics\u2019 villain and twisted genius Ivan Kragoff. First introduced in January 1963\u2019s Fantastic Four #13, Kragoff is better known as the Red Ghost, a recurring foe of Marvel\u2019s First Family who often used his army of Super-Apes to aid him in his plans. Unfortunately, as recently revealed by director Matt Shakman<\/a>, Malkovich\u2018s role was cut from the film. Now, in a new interview, Shakman has detailed why the decision was made and explained that it\u2019s unlikely the footage will ever be seen.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wanted to get the sense of history. We wanted these characters to feel lived in. We wanted the city to feel lived in. This is a real family, and they\u2019ve been doing this for four years. Part of that was showing all the things they\u2019ve done along the way,\u201d said Shakman of the film\u2019s opening act montage that replaced the classic origin story.\u201cBuilding the Future Foundation, defeating Red Ghost, Mad Thinker, Mole Man\u2026it was part of building the history for them so we could jump in and see them change as a family when a child is introduced.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe had an opening that involved a lot of action about the Red Ghost,\u201d\u00a0Shakman continued.\u00a0\u201cWe had an incredible performance from John Malkovich. It was just so much material when we were trying to get to that present-day moment when their world changes and Franklin\u2019s arrival becomes imminent.\u201c<\/p>\n

There were a lot of things that ultimately ended up hitting the cutting room floor. When we were building a \u201960s 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 \u2014\u00a0there 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.<\/p>\n

-Matt Shakman<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had Red Ghost trying to steal a rocket ship with his apes, Reed trying to defeat him and outwitting him,\u201d\u00a0he said of the cut scene.\u00a0\u201cThey had a lot of really fun stuff. We used snippets of it in that montage you see where he\u2019s kicking one of the Super-Apes into the water.\u201c<\/p>\n

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While Malkovich\u2018s take on Kragoff didn\u2019t make the final cut, the character did appear in the film\u2019s post-credit scene, as did his Super-Apes. \u201cYou can see in the credits Reed getting his face pulled by a baboon, which is an homage to Alex Ross,\u201c said Shakman. It\u2019s unlikely that Marvel Studios has current plans for Earth-828\u2019s Red Ghost in Avengers: Doomsday or Avengers: Secret Wars, but perhaps\u2013and hopefully\u2013there\u2019s a way for Malkovich to bring the character to the screen in some way before long. <\/p>\n

Source: Phase Zero<\/a>, Variety<\/a><\/p>\n

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