THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS Featurette Adds Weight To Theories John Malkovich's Role Has Been Cut

THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS Featurette Adds Weight To Theories John Malkovich's Role Has Been Cut

A new featurette for The Fantastic Four: First Steps has been released, and as well as offering an exciting glimpse at what's to come, it adds weight to the theories that John Malkovich has been cut...

By JoshWilding - Jul 02, 2025 12:07 PM EST
Filed Under: Fantastic Four

Marvel Studios has officially released the first featurette for The Fantastic Four: First Steps, and it includes new interviews with director Matt Shakman and Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige. 

That's not all, though, as there's also plenty of behind-the-scenes action (showcasing the practical sets and stunts) and snippets of footage from the movie itself. 

However, it's what we don't see that's causing a stir on social media.

We recently told you that John Malkovich's name has been removed from the cast list attached to press material for The Fantastic Four: First Steps. Now, the actor's name has also vanished from the credits included at the end of this sneak peek, lending weight to theories he'll no longer appear in the reboot. 

Rumour has it he'd been cast as Red Ghost; it's not like his role has been kept a secret, as he was featured in the first teaser trailer. It seems likely that something about his character wasn't working, with feedback from test screenings perhaps leading to him being removed altogether. 

Red Ghost is a classic Fantastic Four villain who pitted his Super-Apes against Marvel's First Family to prove that his country, Russia, was superior to the United States. 

There may be other reasons he's not being credited along with the rest of the main cast, including Paul Walter Hauser, Natasha Lyonne, and Sarah Niles, three actors we've seen nothing of in trailers (who they're playing hasn't even been announced, though Hauser is thought to be Mole Man).

We'll see. For now, watch this new look at The Fantastic Four: First Steps in the players below.

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.

Paul Walter Hauser, John Malkovich, Natasha Lyonne, and Sarah Niles have been cast in mystery roles. Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom is rumoured to appear, though that's surely a given with Avengers: Doomsday on the way.

Director Matt Shakman worked with both Avatar: The Way of Water co-writer Josh Friedman and WandaVision's Cam Squires on The Fantastic Four: First Steps' screenplay, with Eric Pearson (Black Widow) later coming on board for a final polish.

The movie is set to be released in theaters on July 25, 2025.

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SuperCat
SuperCat - 7/2/2025, 1:00 PM
User Comment Image
THEDARKKNIGHT1939
THEDARKKNIGHT1939 - 7/2/2025, 1:00 PM
Use words like "real sets" "real locations" and "practical suits". That'll draw 'em in.
NOID
NOID - 7/2/2025, 2:11 PM
@THEDARKKNIGHT1939 - 100%… I’m so tired of them using that as a selling point… especially when the cgi that is added makes it look awful. Jurassic World Rebirth just released a video of everyone talking about the baby dinosaur and how much they loved working with it…. Straight out of the Mandalorian marketing department
PopBye
PopBye - 7/2/2025, 3:01 PM
@NOID - ?
PopBye
PopBye - 7/2/2025, 3:01 PM
@THEDARKKNIGHT1939 - There's nothing wrong with them mentioning this.
HashTagSwagg
HashTagSwagg - 7/2/2025, 1:06 PM
Cut the tache, there's still time to fix that shit
User Comment Image
PC04
PC04 - 7/2/2025, 1:08 PM
So we'll be seeing him in the eventual "EXTENDED CUT" right?
dragon316
dragon316 - 7/2/2025, 1:42 PM
@PC04 - hard to say never did see scene hulk in end battle of infinity war ?si=CpiKMl1DZkMtBUZI
TheVisionary25
TheVisionary25 - 7/2/2025, 1:20 PM
It would be unfortunate if Malkovich was cut from the film especially after almost being The Vulture in Raimi’s Spider Man 4 so that would just be shitty luck.

Granted , he just has/had a small part as Red Ghost most likely as a villain that helps establish the FF as heroes during the beginning of the film when they are likely at the talk show we have seen…

He was in Shakman’s only feature film before this which was titled “ Cut Bank” so he probably called him up as a favor to play this part which could be a reason he isn’t in the credits in that its a bit role while Lyonne and Hauser could have more supporting roles even though we haven’t seen them in any of the footage yet.

User Comment Image

Anyway we’ll see but the featurette was cool and I am looking forward to the film!!.
PopBye
PopBye - 7/2/2025, 3:04 PM
@TheVisionary25 - I doubt his been cut, but he probably has a very small role.
TheVisionary25
TheVisionary25 - 7/2/2025, 4:19 PM
@PopBye - same.
Apophis71
Apophis71 - 7/3/2025, 6:33 AM
@PopBye - I theorised that some of their past villains/battles we may not see 'directly' at all, in that whilst on the chat show they play footage of past adventures and it isn't like a small role in a small clip on a TV show within a film is ever going to be listed anywhere prior to release.

Is it possible they intended a direct look at a battle with someone like Moleman and/or Red Ghost and one or both have been cut or reduced to clips on a TV in universe or some such, sure, but kinda expect it would be kept in some form even if just a credit sequence montage of battles. Be cool if down the line, if their retrofuturistic alt timeline 60's is once and done, they do a prequel animated series at some point down the road.
McMurdo
McMurdo - 7/2/2025, 1:33 PM
#notmyReed
PopBye
PopBye - 7/2/2025, 3:03 PM
@McMurdo - And yet he will still be the best live action Reed.
McMurdo
McMurdo - 7/2/2025, 4:44 PM
@PopBye - I doubt it
Latverian
Latverian - 7/2/2025, 8:02 PM
@McMurdo -

Nothing like the MCU, to make "fans" offer retroactive praise to anything that came prior as infinitely better; deserving or otherwise.
McMurdo
McMurdo - 7/3/2025, 6:50 PM
@Latverian - yeah lol it really be like that
SteviesRightFoo
SteviesRightFoo - 7/2/2025, 1:39 PM
Who cares? It's dead on arrival with the Reed casting
PopBye
PopBye - 7/2/2025, 3:03 PM
@SteviesRightFoo - Wrong
LibraMatter
LibraMatter - 7/2/2025, 7:47 PM
@SteviesRightFoo - lmao!! Yeah right. In fact, casting Pablo Pascal probably will bring in more female movie goers that wouldn’t have gone in the first place and most of the general audience that love the Mandalorian, the Last of Us and just him in general. This website is not an indicator of the world in general. Just us nerds. People in the real world do not care if he has a mustache or not. They just like that dude and like popcorn flicks.
hainesy
hainesy - 7/2/2025, 1:58 PM
I was always surprised with the inclusion of the Red Ghost. Not a great character. They should have gone with the Wizard for a B-list villain to have them fight in the montage or early scenes.
dragon316
dragon316 - 7/2/2025, 2:01 PM
Uh oh
ObserverIO
ObserverIO - 7/2/2025, 2:19 PM
Reshoot his scenes with Paul Walter Hauser.

Then your only problem is that you need to reshoot Hauser's Mole Man scenes. No problem. Call DeVito! Watch the box office explode.
PopBye
PopBye - 7/2/2025, 3:03 PM
Looks fantastic
StSteven
StSteven - 7/2/2025, 8:16 PM
Glad they went with so many practical effects (can't believe that they actually built a 5000 foot tall Galactus robot - that's dedication 😉).

BTW, anyone ever notice that never in any interview, clip, etc. does Feige blink? Seriously. Which, to me, just lends more credence that he's actually the robot from "She-hulk: Attorney at Law" just wearing a human skin. Kinda like a Terminator, or shall we call him the "Kevinator"? Da-da-da-dum-dum.
Apophis71
Apophis71 - 7/3/2025, 6:37 AM
@StSteven - Or he does blink in every interview you have seen him in and by some extreme freak of chance you always blink at the exact same time thus always miss it?
StSteven
StSteven - 7/4/2025, 11:38 PM
@Apophis71 - I think that you just blew my mind. So... that would mean... that Feige... is somehow capable of knowing exactly when I would be blinking while watching an interview with him and would then time his blinking to coincide with mine to try to convince me that he is in fact the Kevinator?!? But why? What kind of sorcery is he planning that he needs the fanbase to believe that he's not just a normal guy UNLESS that's what he wants us to think. Remember Reese's whole thing in "T1" about the evolution of the Terminators, how they originally had rubber skin and were easily detectable, etc. What if this is his way of letting us know but not telling us but... OMG! My brain is literally melting and dribbling out my ears right now. Thanks! 😜

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