Release the Shakman Cut? Fantastic Four director shoots down hopes of a director's cut because of the amount of "unfinished" VFX in deleted scenes

Ebon Moss-Bachrach as The Thing and Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm in The Fantastic Four: First Steps trailer
(Image credit: Disney/Marvel Studios)

Fantastic Four's Matt Shakman has revealed why a director's cut won't be released for the Marvel movie.

When pressed by Elite Daily on deleted scenes involving John Malkovich's Red Ghost and if it meant a director's cut could be in the works, Shakman replied, "There are so many visual effects involved that those scenes remain unfinished, so that’s not possible."

Eagle-eyed Marvel fans have already spotted, Red Ghost aside, that several moments from the initial wave of Fantastic Four: First Steps trailers and marketing were left out of the final cut – which had a relatively svelte runtime of 115 minutes, including a post-credits scene that leads into Avengers: Doomsday.

Bradley Russell

I'm the Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, focusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you'll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.

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