John Malkovich said he refused to appear in Marvel movies for years before 'Fantastic Four' because the studio 'didn't want to pay me'

Yahoo

21-02-2025

John Malkovich said he rejected multiple Marvel movie roles before starring in "The Fantastic Four."
Malkovich told GQ he turned them down because he didn't like the pay deals he was offered.
He's not the first actor to address being motivated by the paycheck when joining the Marvel franchise.
John Malkovich makes his Marvel debut in this year's "Fantastic Four" reboot. But the actor said he rejected multiple past Marvel roles because he didn't think the pay was good enough.
Malkovich, whose character in "The Fantastic Four: First Steps" has not been confirmed, is the latest well-established actor to star in the superhero blockbuster movies, following the likes of Harrison Ford, Russell Crowe, and Helen Mirren.
But Malkovich told GQ on Tuesday that he agreed to "The Fantastic Four: First Steps," which premieres in July, so he could work with the film's director Matt Shakman. The pair collaborated on 2014's "Cut Bank."
Malkovich said he turned down previous Marvel roles because he "didn't like the deals they made, at all."
"The reason I didn't do them had nothing to do with any artistic considerations whatsoever," he said. "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."
He's the latest actor to speak candidly about pay being a big motivator for them joining, or leaving, the billion-dollar franchise.
When asked why he joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Ford told Variety in August 2024: "It took not caring. It took being an idiot for money, which I've done before."
Hugo Weaving, who played the Red Skull in 2011's "Captain America: The First Avenger," told Time Out in 2020 that he didn't return to play the character in "Avengers: Infinity War" and "Avengers: Endgame" because Marvel offered him less money.
"They said: 'It's just a voice job, it's not a big deal.' I actually found negotiating with them through my agent impossible. And I didn't really wanna do it that much. But I would have done it," he said.
The character was recast for the two "Avengers" films, with Ross Marquand taking over the role, and they grossed $4.8 billion in total.
Marvel did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
Read the original article on Business Insider