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

Months of speculation over John Malkovich’s “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” character were done in vain. TheWrap has learned Malkovich has been cut from “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” less than two weeks ahead of the film’s July 25 release.