The 71-year-old actor was set to appear in the new Marvel Cinematic Universe blockbuster as villain Ivan Kragoff/Red Ghost but director Matt Shakman has revealed that his scenes didn’t make the final cut as they didn’t fit in with the story – which features Pedro Pascal,

Even the Silver Surfer couldn't have heralded John Malkovich ending up on the cutting room floor for The Fantastic Four: First Steps. Malkovich has been cut from the Marvel film by director Matt Shakman less than two weeks ahead of the film's July 25 release,

Variety reports that Malkovich had been cast as The Red Ghost, one of the Fantastic Four's earliest villains. Malkovich would have appeared in a part of the film that showcased the heroes' earliest bad guys,

The Red Ghost has escaped! Actor John Malkovich will no longer appear in Marvel Studios' "The Fantastic Four: First Steps" as Ivan Kragoff, aka the Red Ghost, one of the earliest villains to battle the superhero quartet in the comics.