AnMCUactor officially confirms the villain they’re playing inThe Fantastic Four: First Stepsand reveals whether they’ll actually appear in the movie. Shortly beforeThe Fantastic Four: First Steps' release, it was confirmed thatJohn Malkovich’s Red Ghost was cut from the movie. Red Ghost is a prominent recurring antagonist in the Fantastic Four’s comics, which suggests the Phase 6 film is putting all its focus on Galactus as its main villain.
In an exclusive interview withScreenRant’s Liam Crowley,Paul Walter Hauser confirms he will appear inThe Fantastic Four: First Stepsas Harvey Elder a.k.a. Mole Man, and states that he likely won’t be cut from the movie. Prior to Hauser’s confirmation, a comic book prequel toThe Fantastic Four: First Stepsfeatured Mole Man as a secondary character with a strong resemblance to Hauser. Read the MCU actor’s full comments below:
ScreenRant: Paul, you’ve got a big couple of weeks coming up. Fantastic Four is coming out next Friday.
Paul Walter Hauser: Yeah.
ScreenRant: John Malkovich was just confirmed to be cut. Can you alleviate our fears? Are you in this movie?
Paul Walter Hauser: I think so. I’m pretty sure. Yeah. No, it’s just one of those things where I’ve learned that in a very important film, there [are] a lot of things that they’re trying to accomplish, and sometimes they nip and they tuck. I’m sure one or two of my things have been cut too, from what I heard, but I think I’m still in the movie.
SR: Do you know what this is?
Paul Walter Hauser: That’s the prequel. Yeah.
SR: Looks like Mole Man.
Paul Walter Hauser: Oh, I’m saying it now. I am Mole Man.
SR: We can confirm.
Paul Walter Hauser: Yeah. You and someone yesterday are the only two people I’ve confirmed that with, journalistically. But if they’re so bold as to use my likeness in a comic book, I’m bold enough to say, “Yeah, bro.”
What Paul Walter Hauser’s Fantastic Four: First Steps Comments Mean
Mole Man Finally Makes His Live-Action Debut In The MCU
Since the 1990s,there have been four live-action Fantastic Four movies, all of which have featured Doctor Doom as a primary villain. In 2025, Marvel Studios’The Fantastic Four: First Stepsfinally breaks that trend with Galactus as its main antagonist, while Doctor Doom makes his official MCU debut inAvengers: Doomsday. Likewise,all Fantastic Four movies released before the 2025 reboot had ignored the team’s long list of recurring enemies.
Anofficial image of Paul Walter Hauser’s Mole Manhas been revealed, as well.
The Fantastic Four: First Stepsfinally shines a light on iconic Marvel villains like Mole Man, and it would have marked the first live-action appearance by Red Ghost. Whether these two are the only two secondary villains originally planned to appear inThe Fantastic Four: First Stepsis unknown. However, Mole Man’s debut, at the very least, is a welcome addition to MCU lore.
Our Take On Paul Walter Hauser’s Fantastic Four: First Steps Comments
Mole Man Deserves To Become A Recurring MCU Villain
Traditionally portrayed as a somewhat campy antagonist, Mole Man has long been treated as a nuisance rather than a top-tier threat. However,an exciting evolution of Paul Walter Hauser’s MCU role would be for him to rebuild Subterranea on Earth-616 after the events ofThe Fantastic Four: First StepsandAvengers: Doomsday. Making Mole Man a recurring MCU villain would do justice to a character who has been largely overlooked until now.
Once in the MCU, Paul Walter Hauser’s Mole Man could face other heroes. Spider-Man, Daredevil, and the Avengers could deal with Mole Man and his subterranean army in future films or shows that could cement Harvey Elder as more than an FF-exclusive foil. While Mole Man isn’t the most powerful ofthe Fantastic Four’s foes, he’s iconic and has the potential to be more than a one-off punchline character.
