Fantastic Four Director Denies Possibility of Director's Cut Amid Cut Villain Scenes

The Fantastic Four: First Steps, directed by Matt Shakman, has faced criticism for its rushed final act due to extensive cuts, including the complete removal of John Malkovich's Red Ghost character. Shakman explained that scenes featuring Red Ghost and other villains like Mad Thinker and Mole Man were initially included to build the team’s history but had to be cut to maintain the film’s pacing and runtime. Despite fans' hopes for a director’s cut or extended edition restoring these scenes, Shakman confirmed such a version is impossible due to the unfinished visual effects on the deleted footage. The film opens with a brief montage introducing the Fantastic Four and hints at their past battles through news reports and headlines rather than showing their origin story. While Marvel occasionally releases extended editions or deleted scenes, the complexity and VFX work left incomplete in these cut scenes mean they likely won’t appear on home video or streaming releases. Shakman praised Malkovich's performance as brilliant and expressed his disappointment about cutting these parts, emphasizing the challenge of balancing world-building with storytelling in a limited runtime.