Long before Shalla-Bal/Silver Surfer and Galactus threaten Earth in The Fantastic Four: First Steps, audiences already get to see the titular superhero team taking out various baddies in a rapid-fire opening sequence montage. One of these segments includes Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic, using his stretchy powers to kick an ornery orangutan into the nearby ocean. No, this isn’t a brief glimpse of Mr. Fantastic harboring resentment towards every ape he sees, from chimpan-A to chimpan-Z.
Instead, it’s a relic from a deleted scene that would’ve chronicled the Fantastic Four contending with Red Ghost/Ivan Kragoff (John Malkovich) and his Super-Apes. That sequence ended up on the cutting room floor, but maybe there could be a future for it if Marvel Studios embraces the One-Shot short film format again.
What Happened With Malkovich’s Fantastic Four Character?
Malkovich’s role was a part of Fantastic Four: First Steps for so long that he was both briefly glimpsed at in the film’s initial teaser trailer and credited as part of the main cast in its official poster in May 2025. However, director Matt Shakman has revealed that the character’s central sequence got cut to ensure a greater focus on the Fantastic Four as a family. It also appears that, initially, Kragoff was the one responsible for destroying the teleportation beams that, in the final cut, the Silver Surfer wipes out. Clearly, a lot of time and thought went into this baddie, including getting Malkovich to play the character.
Perhaps all that creative energy could be seen again if this sequence were released as a Marvel One-Shot short film. That line of shorts has been MIA since February 2014’s All Hail the King (save for a couple of Thor-adjacent shorts helmed by Taika Waititi). Delivering this cut First Steps action sequence as a standalone short film, though, would be an extraordinary way to revive the brand. What a “character arc” these shorts would go through, from threadbare DVD extras chronicling two S.H.I.E.L.D. agents in a booth to John Malkovich commanding CG apes to steal a rocketship.
Shakman’s comments about this scene being largely disconnected from the rest of First Steps (hence its exclusion from the final cut) further suggest why this sequence could find a new lease on life as a short film. What a superfluous in a motion picture could be perfect as a bite-sized return to this retro-world. Just insert some opening narration from Corey Burton explaining that this short chronicles a Fantastic Four adventure from before Franklin’s birth, and everyone’s caught up. Malkovich’s performance and the work of the CG artists bringing those CG apes to life could finally be appreciated rather than being tucked away in a vault somewhere.
It’s Time To Bring Back the One-Shot Short Films Anyway
Previously, the One-Shot shorts were ways to boost physical home video sales of titles like Iron Man 3 and Thor: The Dark World. Turning this Red Ghost sequence into a One-Shot short film for the First Steps Blu-Ray could work perfectly fine. However, this prospective short could prove extra helpful as a way to generate extra attention for any Disney blockbusters in the near future. Tron: Ares and The Dog Stars, to name just two examples, could totally sell a few extra tickets if they had this particular Marvel One-Shot preceding their respective runtimes.
There’s really no end to the benefits of transforming this First Steps deleted scene into a Marvel One-Shot. Among those advantages would be reviving this tragically under-utilized corner of Marvel Cinematic Universe storytelling. One-Shot shorts have so much potential to offer bite-sized glimpses into the MCU, and audiences get to know characters better. Unfortunately, these projects have vanished despite the MCU infiltrating every other storytelling medium imaginable, including TV shows and specials. Maybe unleashing this Red Ghost sequence as a short film would help revive the One-Shot format.
Even if it didn’t inspire a wave of further One-Shot shorts, the brand should totally be briefly revived to ensure this particular First Steps set piece finally sees the light of day. There’s just too much fun potential in this set piece (particularly in terms of Super-Ape chaos) to let this showcase for Malkovich’s talents languish in obscurity. Taking the First Steps scene as it currently exists and releasing it (accompanied by some new explanatory voice-over work) as a One-Shot short film would be an inspired maneuver that audiences would go ape for.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps is now playing in theaters.
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