The actor’s scenes as antagonist Ivan Kragoff/Red Ghost have been cut from the Marvel movie The Fantastic Four: First Steps, as they didn't fit in with the film's plot.

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.

First Steps. The Con Air and Being John Malkovich actor was set to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe as villain Red Ghost, a genius cosmonaut with the powers of ghost-like intangibility. But with a runtime just under two hours — and an ensemble that includes