At this point, it’s known that there were several elements cut from The Fantastic Four: First Steps. Chief among those deleted elements is John Malkovich’s Red Ghost, who was removed due to the need to balance other storytelling elements within the film. At the very least, some fresh concept art shows off Pedro Pascal’s Reed Richards engaging with Red Ghost’s minions in a truly freaky way. As eye-catching as that is, though, it’s the sheer scale of Galactus in the artwork that has me stunned by how he could’ve looked.
It’s not uncommon for artwork from Marvel Studios’ various movies and TV shows to be released in some form or fashion after a project’s release. When it comes to Fantastic Four: First Steps, illustrator Wesley Burt took to X to share artwork from a sequence that fans only saw a snippet of in the finished film. The scene in question involved the FF battling Red Ghost’s army of super-apes. More specifically, in Burt’s image, Reed is seen having his jaw pulled (and stretched) by one of the powerful primates. Check it out:
concept artwork for The Fantastic Four: First Steps, a whole lot more in the upcoming art book pic.twitter.com/egq9IcIgb5August 13, 2025
That artwork looks like a panel ripped straight from the pages of a comic book, and I love it. However, I’m also somewhat wincing over how that would’ve looked on the big screen. Reed getting his jaw pulled by an ape may not constitute true body horror, but it's certainly a wild image. What audiences did get to see in the 2025 movie release, though, was Reed getting aggressively stretched by Galactus during First Steps’ final battle. Speaking of the Devourer of Worlds, check out how he looks in the art Ryan Meinderding shared on Instagram:
And here I thought Galactus’ massive size in actual clips from the movie was scary enough. It’s so surreal to see the gigantic extraterrestrial’s enormous figure in comparison to Reed Richards, who looks like a tiny bug making its way up his arm. Another cool piece of artwork, shared to IG by illustrator Jackson Sze, also emphasizes how large the planet-eater’s frame could’ve been, as it shows him on his ship as it hovers over Earth:
The sight of the very large Marvel villain may be disconcerting in some respects but, as a fan, I was downright thrilled to see him portrayed in all his glory on the big screen. Director Matt Shakman and his team deserve a lot of credit for translating the character to the big screen in such a way. Also, of course, Ralph Ineson – who portrays the big bad – gives an excellent performance that helps make this cosmic giant feel tangible.
Of course, on the other side of the equation, it’s truly unfortunate that John Malkovich’s work isn’t featured in The Fantastic Four. Malkovich revealed earlier this year that after turning down other offers for superhero movies, he joined FF due to the fact that it wouldn’t be grueling for him to make. As far as the public knows, the Red Ghost footage still exists but, given the VFX that would need to be added to it, Matt Shakman said a director’s cut is unlikely to showcase it.
I suppose fans will always have the nifty concept art to refer to, though. Also, who knows, maybe there’s a chance that John Malkovich could actually appear in a theoretical sequel to First Steps and encounter similar to the one in the concept art could play out. On top of that, despite Galactus’ somewhat ambiguous fate at the end of the movie, I’d also love to see him back in the fold. We’ll just have to wait and see how that all shakes out but, in the meantime, I’ll just continue to admire the concept art.
Anyone who wants to see more of the illustrations and mock-ups should be on the lookout for Marvel Studios' The Fantastic Four: First Steps – The Art Of The Movie Slipcase, which will be released on November 18. Of course, fans can also check out the movie itself in theaters now and stream other FF flicks with a Disney+ subscription.
