Matt Shakman, director of Fantastic Four: The Emergence, has publicly stated why John Malkovich’s red ghost did not appear in the final feature film.
In an interview, Shakman revealed that the opening montage showing the heroic deeds of the Fantastic Four in the Ted Gilbert show was originally longer, allowing the audience to feel the “historical weight” of this group of “Marvel’s first family” on the occasion of its fourth anniversary.
“We wanted both the characters and the city to feel real and experienced. To do this, they have to show their experiences along the way: building the Foundation of the Future, defeating the Red Ghost, the Mad Thinkers, and the Mole Man. ”
Among these, the Red Ghost became the main part of the cuts – although the supervillain, played by John Malkovich, was featured in the trailer.
“We originally had a lot of action scenes around the red ghost. John Malkovich’s performance was wonderful. But when we tried to move forward into the moment when ‘pregnancy changed their lives,’ it turned out to be too much,” Shakman explained.
Regarding this scene, the director added: “We filmed the scene where the Red Ghost takes his orangutans to steal the rocket ship, and the process of Reed outsmarting and defeating him. In the montage (of the Ted Gilbert show), you can see some footage, such as the scene where he kicks one of the orangutans into the water. ”
Starring Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bahrach and Joseph Quinn, Fantastic Four: Emerging Grace is now available in theaters.
