Shakman, who previously worked with Malkovich on his 2014 independent feature debut crime thriller Cut Bank, gushed about how the Being John Malkovich star "stuck with" him during the several years he struggled to put together financing on the film and "never dropped out."

Months of speculation over John Malkovich’s “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” character were done in vain. TheWrap has learned Malkovich has been cut from “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” less than two weeks ahead of the film’s July 25 release.

No, you did not blink and miss it. John Malkovich will no longer appear in Marvel Studios’ upcoming tentpole The Fantastic Four: First Steps, despite having filmed scenes as the villain Ivan Kragoff, also known as the Red Ghost.