Summary
- John Malkovich joined The Fantastic Four film after declining prior MCU role offers due to compensation.
- Malkovich enjoyed his experience in the MCU, likening it to theater, and may consider similar roles.
- Fans await to see the veteran actor’s mysterious role unveiled, as his involvement hints at a promising addition.
While The Fantastic Four: First Steps managed to amass a whole talented cast of great stars for the debut of Marvel’s First Family, one of those actors has been on Marvel’s wishlist for a long time, and now fans get his own explanation on why he stayed away from the franchise for so long.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps might be the MCU’s most long-awaited project, bringing the Fantastic Four into the MCU for the first time after a long period of the rights to the characters resting at Fox prior to Disney’s acquisition. After a long period of preproduction and casting, The Fantastic Four: First Steps finally released its first official trailer, and fans were pretty excited to see all the characters in action, as well as a preview of Galactus and a strange, bearded character shown for just a few moments in the trailer. While there was a general knowledge of the film’s villains and even a rumored cameo, fans were perplexed by this mystery character in the trailer.
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It was confirmed that John Malkovich joined the cast of The Fantastic Four: First Steps in that mystery role, but the actor has actually been approached in the past for a role in the MCU to much less success, reportedly more than once. In a recent interview with GQ concerning his role in A24’s Opus, Malkovich revealed why he shot down previous offers to join the MCU, and the reasoning behind it is pretty easy to relate to and understand. “The reason I didn’t do them had nothing to do with any artistic considerations whatsoever. I didn’t like the deals they made, at all,” Malkovich revealed during the interview. “These films are quite grueling to make … If you’re going to hang from a crane in front of a green screen for six months, pay me. You don’t want to pay me, it’s cool, but then I don’t want to do it, because I’d rather be onstage, or be directing a play, or doing something else.” However, with the compensation now more in line with his expectations, Malkovich reveals that he quite enjoyed the experience. “It’s not that dissimilar to doing theater,” he admitted. “You imagine a bunch of stuff that is not there and do your little play.”
The issue of compensation for the MCU’s stars isn’t one that comes up often, and there are no extra details from Malkovich to give fans a clearer view of what sort of offers he received before settling in on the Fantastic Four role. However, the repeat offers from Marvel Studios are a good indicator that Malkovich’s description of the exchanges is mostly accurate, and Marvel Studios has hopefully learned a lesson in terms of how actors value their time. This is especially true for a star like Malkovich, as he’s quite in demand, and Marvel knows it. Fans even got to see Malkovich’s proposed Vulture costume for Sam Raimi’s canceled Spider-Man 4 film from before Marvel Studios got the MCU started back in 2022, showing how far back the actor has been in demand for a role in a Marvel project. The fact that the actor enjoyed his time on the project is a good sign, as he might now be more open to taking on similar roles or reprising his Fantastic Four role in future MCU projects.
It’s a credit to the MCU that Malkovich is now on board, and there’s a lot to be excited for when the film hit theaters. While there’s proof in previous roles that the cast of The Fantastic Four: First Steps is a great pick, and the secretive nature of Malkovich’s character precludes him from that consideration, there’s little doubt that the veteran actor will absolutely smash the role. Fans will have to wait to find out what his role in the film is and how that role could play into the future of the MCU.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps is set for theatrical release on July 25, 2025.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps
- Release Date
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July 25, 2025
- Director
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Matt Shakman
- Writers
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Jeff Kaplan, Josh Friedman, Ian Springer, Eric Pearson, Jack Kirby, Stan Lee
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Source: GQ