Fantastic Four director says it was "heartbreaking" to cut John Malkovich’s Red Ghost from the film, but there were too many characters and a “whole other universe" to introduce: "It just became too much backstory”

John Malkovich with long white hair and a long beard in Fantastic Four: The First Steps.

Fantastic Four director Matt Shakman says there was just too much going on in the film to make room for John Malkovich's Red Ghost, despite having already filmed his scenes.

"John did an amazing job. He's a fantastic actor. He is one of my favorite people, and he's brilliant in the movie," Shakman told Entertainment Weekly. "It just was such a heartbreaking thing to have to eliminate that section, but we had so much to introduce. We had so many characters to introduce this whole world, this whole other universe, and it just became too much backstory."