John Malkovich has a resume of prestigious projects, but every once in a while, he’ll venture into roles with a wider appeal. Malkovich has gotten to let loose in movies like Con Air, Red, Red 2 and Transformers: Dark of the Moon. There was even talk about him becoming the Vulture in a possible sequel to a Sam Raimi-Tobey Maguire Spider-Man movie. However, Malkovich can be seen soon in the upcoming Marvel Studios film The Fantastic Four: First Steps. Variety reports that Malkovich has revealed that there had been Marvel roles in the past offered to him, but he would turn them down.
The esteemed actor gave an interview with GQ magazine where he explained why the offers hadn’t been sufficient enough for him to accept the parts. He 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.”
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He would go on to say that he found it surprising that filming Fantastic Four was “not that dissimilar to doing theater” because “you imagine a bunch of stuff that isn’t there and do your little play.” Malkovich would also say that a big factor of accepting a role in the upcoming MCU film was so he could work with Matt Shakman again after 2014’s Cut Bank.
The official synopsis for The Fantastic Four: First Steps: Set against the vibrant backdrop of a 1960s-inspired, retro-futuristic world, “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” introduces Marvel’s First Family—Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic, Sue Storm/Invisible Woman, Johnny Storm/Human Torch, and Ben Grimm/The Thing as they face their most daunting challenge yet. Forced to balance their roles as heroes with the strength of their family bond, they must defend Earth from a ravenous space god called Galactus (Ralph Ineson) and his enigmatic Herald, Silver Surfer (Julia Garner). And if Galactus’ plan to devour the entire planet and everyone on it weren’t bad enough, it suddenly gets very personal.
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