Overview

• Director Matt Shakman told Phase Hero that John Malkovich’s Red Ghost was removed because the extensive opening montage disrupted narrative momentum when the film shifted to the central pregnancy subplot.
• The excised sequence depicted Red Ghost attempting to hijack the Fantastic Four’s Excelsior spacecraft with his Super-Apes before Reed Richards outwitted him.
• Audiences still see brief glimpses of that battle in the film’s Ted Gilbert Show montage, including Reed kicking one of the Super-Apes into the water.
• Shakman indicated that incomplete visual-effects work on the deleted scenes makes an official release of the full sequence unlikely.
• Fans and insiders are now speculating that Malkovich could reappear as Red Ghost in future MCU entries after noticing subtle hints in the theatrical cut.