Though it might seem hard to believe given the range of genres he's appeared in over the years, John Malkovich will make his superhero movie debut in this year's The Fantastic Four: First Steps, but the legendary actor has now revealed that he has had several opportunities to join major comic book movie projects in the past.
While speaking to GQ, Malkovich explained that he declined a number of Marvel offers in the past, for the simple reason that he didn't feel the studio was willing to pay him enough.
“The reason I didn’t do them had nothing to do with any artistic considerations whatsoever,” said the Opus star. “I didn’t like the deals they made, at all. These films are quite gruelling to make… If you’re going to hang from a crane in front of a green screen for six months, pay me. You don’t want to pay me, it’s cool, but then I don’t want to do it, because I’d rather be onstage, or be directing a play, or doing something else.”
Malkovich didn't name any of the movies or characters he was offered, but we have heard that he was one of the actors up for the role of Green Goblin in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man prior to Willem Dafoe signing on. There was also talk of him playing Vulture in Sony Pictures' fourth Spider-Man movie before the decision was made to reboot the franchise with The Amazing Spider-Man.
As for his The Fantastic Four character, Malkovich is rumored to be playing one of the team's oldest villains, Ivan Kragoff, aka the Red Ghost.
"It’s not that dissimilar to doing theater,” he said of his mysterious FF role. “You imagine a bunch of stuff that is not there and do your little play.”
In the comics, Kragoff was a Russian scientist who attempted to replicate the conditions that gave the Fantastic Four their powers. After building a ceramic ship, he flew to the moon with three trained apes: Peotor the Orangutan, Miklho the gorilla, and Igor the Baboon.
The cosmic rays gave Kragoff and his simian allies incredible powers, with Peotor developing control over magnetism, Miklho gaining enhanced strength, and Igor becoming a shape-shifter. Ivan himself gained the ability to become intangible at will, taking the supervillain moniker Red Ghost.
We did catch a quick glimpse of a long-hared, bearded Malkovich in the first trailer for The Fantastic Four, and he certainly resembled the comic book version of Red Ghost.
The Fantastic Four reboot stars Pedro Pascal (The Last of Us, The Mandalorian) as Reed Richards, aka Mr. Fantastic, Vanessa Kirby (Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning) as Sue Storm, aka the Invisible Woman, Joseph Quinn (Stranger Things, A Quiet Place Day One) as Johnny Storm, aka The Human Torch, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach (The Punisher, The Bear) as Ben Grimm, aka the Thing.
Galactus has been confirmed as the main villain, and the Eater of Worlds will be played by Ralph Ineson (The Witch, Game of Thrones). Julia Garner (Ozark, Wolf Man) will play Silver Surfer. Natasha Lyonne and Paul Walter Houser are also on board in undisclosed roles.
Kevin Feige recently confirmed that the movie will take place in an alternate universe, but we know that Marvel's First Family will appear in Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, so we wouldn't be surprised if they find their way into the main MCU timeline by the end of this movie.
"Set against the vibrant backdrop of a 1960s-inspired, retro-futuristic world, Marvel Studios' The Fantastic Four: First Steps introduces Marvel’s First Family—Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic (Pedro Pascal), Sue Storm/Invisible Woman (Vanessa Kirby), Johnny Storm/Human Torch (Joseph Quinn) and Ben Grimm/The Thing (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) as they face their most daunting challenge yet.
Forced to balance their roles as heroes with the strength of their family bond, they must defend Earth from a ravenous space god called Galactus (Ralph Ineson) and his enigmatic Herald, Silver Surfer (Julia Garner). And if Galactus’ plan to devour the entire planet and everyone on it weren’t bad enough, it suddenly gets very personal."
Matt Shakman directs The Fantastic Four: First Steps, which is set to hit theaters on July 25, 2025.