John Malkovich's Character Cut From 'The Fantastic Four: First Steps'
Image Source: JoBlo
Iconic actor John Malkovich’s character, Ivan Kragoff/Red Ghost, has sadly been cut from The Fantastic Four: First Steps film set to hit theaters next week. Director Matt Shakman sat down with Variety recently to discuss the film and the tough decision to leave out Malkovich’s scenes.
“There were a lot of things that ultimately ended up hitting the cutting room floor,” Shakman said. “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.”
Shakman has a history of working with John Malkovich and nothing but admiration for the actor as a person, as well as his body of work. He shared how difficult it was for him to let go of those scenes:
“It was heartbreaking not to include him in the final version of the movie because he’s one of my very favorite humans and one of my biggest inspirations. 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.”
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The Fantastic Four: First Steps boasts a talented cast, including Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic, Vanesa Kirby as Sue Storm/Invisible Woman, Joseph Quin as Johnny Storm/Human Torch, Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm/The Thing, Ralph Ineson as Galactus, and Julie Garner as Shalla-Bal/Silver Surfer. The film is expected to hit theaters July 25.
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