Fantastic Four: First Steps Cutting a Marvel Villain Made the Movie Better

The Fantastic Four: First Steps marks the debut of the titular superhero family in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and the movie’s success can partially be attributed to the decision to cut one villain. 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) take center stage in First Steps as the Fantastic Four encounter a potential world-ending threat in their retro-futuristic universe. The cosmic force known as Galactus (Ralph Ineson) emerges to consume planets, and his herald Shalla-Bal/Silver Surfer (Julia Garner) arrives to warn the Fantastic Four of their Earth’s grim fate. First Steps pits the two antagonists against its main heroes as they race to save their world. But interestingly enough, a third villain was originally supposed to feature in the movie.

Red Ghost, portrayed by John Malkovich, was slated to appear in First Steps as another enemy for the Fantastic Four to encounter, but director Matt Shakman revealed shortly before the film’s release that the villain was removed from the final cut. In Marvel comics, Red Ghost gets his name from his ability to become intangible. Also, as Dr. Ivan Kragoff, the character keeps an army of Super-Apes, whom he deploys in space flight. Malkovich likely excelled in the role of Red Ghost, but after watching First Steps, it’s easy to see why he was cut. The movie’s existing issues simply did not allow enough space for Red Ghost to shine.

Excluding John Malkovich’s Red Ghost from The Fantastic Four: First Steps Was the Right Move

The Fantastic Four: First Steps is already crowded enough with only Galactus and Shalla-Bal as its villains. In fact, the film struggles to give the aforementioned antagonists enough screen time and character development. Galactus looks enormous and threatening, but he hardly does anything other than speak ominous words, and his true purpose and motivation hardly get fleshed out. When Galactus finally executes his plan in the movie’s third act, he doesn’t end up as big a problem for the Fantastic Four as one would imagine. The giant world-eater stumbles around Earth-828’s New York City until the heroes discover that simply pushing him through a wormhole would defeat him.

Garner is intimidating and sympathetic as the Silver Surfer, though her scenes are far too short. Moreover, First Steps clumsily reveals Shalla-Bal’s tragic backstory of losing her own planet through a hasty flashback and some overly expository dialogue from Johnny before the final fight. As it stands, the villains of First Steps fall short of their full potential in part due to the movie’s short 1-hour-and-55-minute run time. So, cutting Red Ghost’s scenes provides more room for Galactus and Shalla-Bal. It’s hard to imagine how any of First Steps‘ antagonists would have made a significant impact on the film if Red Ghost had been thrown into the mix.

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Without him, Galactus and the Silver Surfer are at least able to establish their presence, appear in an exciting battle, and serve their purpose in First Steps without turning the movie into a complete mess. Other characters like Rachel Rozman (Natasha Lyonne) and Harvey Elder/Mole Man (Paul Walter Hauser) also suffer from a severe lack of screen time, making it even clearer that Malkovich’s Red Ghost did not fit in First Steps and that the movie is better without his presence. The film succeeds thanks to its heartwarming themes about family and togetherness in challenging times, even though its villains don’t stand out as much as they could have.

The MCU’s Multiverse Saga Has a Villain Problem

Fortunately, The Fantastic Four: First Steps doesn’t overwhelm itself with villains, but its one-dimensional antagonists indicate a larger problem in the MCU’s Multiverse Saga. Earlier in 2025, Captain America: Brave New World attempted a political-thriller superhero story with Samuel Sterns/The Leader (Tim Blake Nelson), Sidewinder (Giancarlo Esposito), Copperhead (Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson), and Thaddeus Ross/Red Hulk (Harrison Ford) as the bad guys confronting Sam Wilson/Captain America (Anthony Mackie). None of Brave New World‘s villains had enough screen time to flourish, thus rendering the movie overstuffed and forgettable.

Elsewhere, the MCU’s failure to establish Kang the Conqueror as a formidable Avengers-level threat, in addition to Jonathan Majors’ legal troubles, caused a last-minute pivot to Doctor Doom (Robert Downey Jr.) as the franchise’s next big bad. First Steps‘ mid-credits scene officially introduces the villain ahead of 2026’s Avengers: Doomsday, though Doctor Doom might fall victim to his rushed introduction. As a result, the Multiverse Saga’s recurring villain problem could worsen as this chapter of the MCU comes to a close. Even so, it’s great that The Fantastic Four: First Steps delivers the long-anticipated debut of Marvel’s first family before they take on a prominent role in Doomsday.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps is now playing in theaters.