Months of speculation over John Malkovich’s “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” character were done in vain. TheWrap has learned Malkovich has been cut from “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” less than two weeks ahead of the film’s July 25 release.

John Malkovich’s Red Ghost was cut from Marvel’s “Fantastic Four: First Steps,” while Paul Walter Hauser debuts as Mole Man in newly released first-look images.

The Red Ghost has escaped! Actor John Malkovich will no longer appear in Marvel Studios’ “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” as Ivan Kragoff, aka the Red Ghost, one of the earliest villains to battle the superhero quartet in the comics.