Marvel artist Wesley Burt has shared never-before-seen concept art for that deleted scene featuring Red Ghosts and his Super-Apes – and now we're even more bummed that the sequence didn't make it into the final cut.
In the image, which can be viewed below, Pedro Pascal's Reed Richards can be seen fighting off three of Red Ghost's Super-Apes. From what we can tell, the ape biting Reed's super stretchy face is Igor, a baboon with shape-shifting abilities, the one hanging onto his arm is Peotor, an orangutan with magnetic powers, and the one Reed is wrapped around is none other than Miklho, perhaps the most famous of the Super-Apes. In the film, we do see Reed fight off a Super-Ape for just a few quick seconds, and that ape appears to be Peotor.
The full sequence, featuring John Malkovich as Red Ghost, was ultimately cut not only for time, but because there was way too much going on. Director Matt Shakman called the decision "heartbreaking," but explained that they "had so many characters to introduce this whole world, this whole other universe, and it just became too much backstory."
concept artwork for The Fantastic Four: First Steps, a whole lot more in the upcoming art book pic.twitter.com/egq9IcIgb5August 13, 2025
Red Ghost (and the rest of his Super-Apes) are only mentioned by name in the film as one of several deep-cut comic book villains that the Fantastic Four successfully fought off. Here's hoping they release the full deleted scene soon.
Fantastic Four: First Steps. For even more, check out our guide to the Fantastic Four: First Steps post-credits scenes, or see our spoiler-free Fantastic Four: First Steps review.
