John Malkovich says the reason he stayed out of Marvel movies for years wasn’t a philosophical objection to comic-book filmmaking—it was business. In interviews tied to his (brief) entry into the MCU, the veteran actor said he’d been approached about Marvel projects before, but repeatedly passed because he “didn’t like the deals” on offer.
As he put it, these productions can be physically demanding and time-consuming: “If you’re going to hang from a crane in front of a green screen for six months, pay me.”
That pragmatic stance made headlines in early 2025, when Malkovich was promoting his then-upcoming role in The Fantastic Four: First Steps—Marvel’s big-screen introduction of the team into the MCU. He noted that the job is grueling in a way that requires real compensation, and that if the pay isn’t there, he’d rather spend that time onstage, directing, or working in theater.
Why he said yes to Fantastic Four—and the twist after he did
So why did Malkovich finally sign on? According to the same reporting, the deciding factor was not Marvel “finally meeting him halfway” in public negotiation, but his desire to work again with director Matt Shakman, whom he previously collaborated with on Cut Bank.
Malkovich also compared the imaginative demands of acting in CGI-heavy scenes to theater—performing amid elements that aren’t physically there.
Then came the irony: in July 2025, GQ and Vanity Fair reported that although Malkovich had filmed scenes for The Fantastic Four: First Steps (and appeared in marketing), Shakman confirmed those scenes didn’t make the final cut, calling it a “heartbreaking” but necessary decision in an already packed movie.
The film ultimately released July 25, 2025, per Marvel’s official listing—making Malkovich’s pay-focused honesty one of the more memorable behind-the-scenes storylines tied to the project, even as his on-screen contribution ended up being reduced or removed.
