John Malkovich Explains Why He Turned Down Marvel Roles for Years and Why He Finally Said Yes To THE FANTASTIC FOUR

John Malkovich is finally stepping into the Marvel Cinematic Universe with The Fantastic Four: First Steps, but it turns out this isn’t the first time Marvel has come knocking on his door.

In a recent interview with GQ, the Oscar-nominated actor revealed he’s passed on multiple Marvel roles over the years, not because of artistic concerns, but because the pay just wasn’t worth the grind.

The actor explained: “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.

“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.”

So, what convinced him to finally take the leap into the MCU with The fantastic Four? It was the chance to reunite with director Matt Shakman, who he previously worked with on 2014’s Cut Bank. That, and the realization that making Fantastic Four wasn’t as far removed from his theater roots as he thought.

Malkovich said: “It’s not that dissimilar to doing theater. You imagine a bunch of stuff that isn’t there and do your little play.”

We got our first glimpse of Malkovich in the teaser for The Fantastic Four: First Steps, and one popular theory is that he’s playing Ivan Kragoff, aka the Red Ghost, a Soviet scientist who tries to recreate the Fantastic Four’s space accident—except he gains the ability to turn intangible and, for some reason, assembles a team of superpowered apes.

Whether or not that theory ends up being true, Malkovich makes a great addition to the cast!

The Fantastic Four: First Steps hits theaters on July 25.