Marvel Studios’ retro-futuristic “Fantastic Four: First Steps” landed in cinemas on July 25, opening to an estimated $57 million in the United States and climbing past $227 million worldwide by the end of its first weekend. Director Matt Shakman, who presents the team in a stylised 1960s Manhattan threatened by Galactus, has used the press circuit to explain why a significant volume of footage will remain unseen.
Shakman said “a ton of stuff that is really wonderful” sits on the cutting-room floor, foremost a twelve-minute prologue in which John Malkovich’s Red Ghost and his super-apes battle the fledgling Fantastic Four. He explained that the material, shot at Pinewood Studios and glimpsed in the first teaser, was excised to keep the story centred on Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm while still accommodating Julia Garner’s Silver Surfer, Paul Walter Hauser’s Mole Man and the arrival of baby Franklin Richards; locking the final cut at one hour fifty-five minutes was, he said, a guiding principle.
Hashtags such as #ReleaseTheRedGhost began trending after preview screenings, yet Shakman has ruled out a director’s cut, pointing to hundreds of visual-effects shots that exist only in rough form and the multimillion-dollar cost of finishing them. Fan petitions on Marvel forums have attracted thousands of signatures but have not shifted the studio’s stance.
The theatrical cut still offers a notable tease. Shakman confirmed that Anthony and Joe Russo secretly directed the mid-credits scene that unveils a masked monarch widely assumed to be Doctor Doom, setting up Avengers: Doomsday in 2026. Analysts say the cameo, combined with encouraging reviews and a PG-13 rating, should help the film hold screens against late-summer competition even without the lure of an extended edition.
