The Fantastic Four Cameo That Never Happened

No, we’re not talking about Stan Lee.

Of all the people who worked to distance themselves from this week’s floundering Fantastic Four reboot, perhaps the oddest and most surprising name on the list is…Harvey Elder.

Tim Blake Nelson, who appears in a number of scenes in the film, was reported to be playing Elder — better known to comic book fans as the veteran Marvel Comics villain Mole Man.

Nelson’s character never became Mole Man, and was never referred to as Harvey Elder in the film. Instead, he’s credited as Dr. Allen, according to IMDb. That site is not always reliable for in-production films but is pretty foolproof once a movie is released and official credits have been released by the studio.

SPOILERS FOR THE FILM FOLLOW.

There had been early speculation that Mole Man would be a villain in the film, followed by later rumors that he was being considered as a villain for the second film instead. If a sequel indeed still happens and if Mole Man is used, it won’t be Nelson, whose character was killed by Dr. Doom in Fantastic Four.

Was he ever REALLY Harvey Elder, or did one of the most respected entertainment trades get it wrong and we in the press all just followed suit?

He definitely gets called “Harvey” at some point in the movie, I’ll say that much. And given the clearly post-production changes to Dr. Doom’s backstory and even name…well, I’m banking on those initial reports being accurate.