The Fantastic Four: First Steps Director Says Cut Scenes Include a 'Ton of Stuff That Was Really Wonderful' You'll Never Watch

Matt Shakman, manager of The Fantastic Four: First Steps, has discussed the swathe of deleted scenes that audiences got lone little glimpses of successful the film's last version.

Clocking successful astatine nether 2 hours, The Fantastic Four is 1 of the MCU's shorter entries — although, arsenic fans are good aware, this was not primitively the case. Entire sequences were changeable and past removed from the movie's last edit, astir of which were focused connected the team's backstory and aboriginal years.

The astir notable chopped was the removal of John Malkovich's Red Ghost — intended to beryllium an aboriginal antagonist of The Fantastic Four, alongside his service of Super-Apes. Now, the quality is simply referenced by sanction only, with 1 Super-Ape seen successful a montage. The quality of Mole Man would besides person seen much surface time, with Sue Storm histrion Vanessa Kirby antecedently discussing a country that would person amended established their relationship.

Now, Shakman has discussed immoderate of the film's different scenes that were "intentionally" changeable but mostly ended up connected the cutting country floor, with astatine astir a glimpse of them included successful the film's aboriginal montages.

"We intentionally wrote and changeable a batch much than we ended up using, oregon needing to use, for their past," Shakman told Collider. "There's a ton of worldly that you've seen astir apt bits and pieces of — a circuit of the Baxter building, oregon Reed's Mr. Fantastic Show, oregon adjacent Ben connected the dating game.

"We changeable each these things 'cause we knew we needed to physique a large satellite and we needed to explicate what they've been doing for 4 years," Shakman continued, "because our movie started 4 years aft that. And we yet didn't — couldn't usage each of it. But knowing we had much was helpful."

So wherefore were these filmed? It sounds similar earlier plans for The Fantastic Four progressive a heavier absorption connected providing a backstory for the team, successful lieu of the full movie being an root story. As the editing process continued, however, this was intelligibly slimmed down to get to the movie's main Galactus plotline faster.

"We were doing immoderate things that were tricky, we were skipping an root communicative but besides trying to springiness you each the accusation you needed to cognize to recognize who these characters were," Shakman said. "Which means that those accepted structural ticking clocks had to get pushed a small bit. Like, erstwhile is it excessively precocious to present the Silver Surfer? How acold tin I propulsion that earlier we bring successful what the large menace of the movie is? How agelong tin we walk getting to cognize and emotion these characters successful their environment? How overmuch is excessively much? You ne'er cognize until you commencement to enactment it unneurotic and consciousness it retired for yourself."

"There was a ton of worldly we changeable that was truly fantastic that we didn't use, couldn't use," helium concluded. "You're looking astatine the larger representation and you're capable to marque those cuts due to the fact that they marque consciousness and yet you cognize it's for the greater good."

Could immoderate of these scenes inactive spot the airy of day? It doesn't dependable likely. Despite calls from fans, Shakman has said a The Fantastic Four: First Steps director's chopped is "not possible".

Regardless of the cuts, The Fantastic Four: First Steps has had a beardown container bureau opening — though it remains to beryllium seen however good the movie continues to execute implicit the coming weeks. In the meantime, Kirby has been discussing the film's revelatory mid-credit country that ties into Avengers: Doomsday.

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You tin scope Tom astatine [email protected] oregon find him connected Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social