John Malkovich Reveals Why He Rejected Marvel Projects Before Fantastic Four

John Malkovich has revealed that he previously rejected the opportunity to appear in Marvel films due to pay. The actor is one of the top billed in Marvel’s The Fantastic Four: First Steps, releasing this summer.
Malkovich told GQ: “The reason I didn’t do them had nothing to do with any artistic considerations whatsoever. I didn’t like the deals they made, at all.”
He continued: “These films are quite grueling to make…. If you’re going to hang from a crane in front of a green screen for six months, pay me. You don’t want to pay me, it’s cool, but then I don’t want to do it, because I’d rather be onstage, or be directing a play, or doing something else.”
Malkovich explained that working on this project was not dissimilar to doing theatre, adding: “You imagine a bunch of stuff that isn’t there and do your little play.”
He stars alongside Pedro Pascal, Joseph Quinn, Vanessa Kirby, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach in The Fantastic Four: First Steps. It’s in cinemas on July 25, 2025.
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