The Fantastic Four: First Steps Teases Mole Man’s MCU Debut

Mole Man may very well be slithering right into the Marvel Cinematic Universe after all. Although the primary villain of The Fantastic Four: First Steps appears to be Galactus, the additional antagonist was teased on a poster handed out at San Diego Comic-Con in support of the movie. Displaying a map of New York, a spot on the poster signifies the existence of Subterranea. In the Marvel source material, Subterranea is not only home to Harvey Elder’s Mole Man, but other monstrous races.

There’s been speculation an actor such as Paul Walter Hauser could be playing Mole Man, perhaps as the film’s opening villain, though the character’s involvement has yet to be confirmed by Marvel Studios.

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Though Hauser has yet to confirm his exact role, he said he intends on reading as many comics as possible to get ready to join the production later this summer.

“I have not dipped my toes into [Mike Batlan’s Deliver Me From Nowhere] yet because before I do that, I’ll be doing this film with Mark Wahlberg called Balls Up, and then after that, I’ll be doing Fantastic Four for Marvel,” Hauser shared with Variety earlier this month. “So I’m mostly focused on those two right now. But once I start wrapping Balls Up in late summer, that’s when I’m going to get heavy into Batlan and dive into that. If I prep too much now I’ll probably try to cement choices and believe I have a handle on the character. And you never have a handle on the character until you basically wrap.”

“Pre-production for me has been reading comic books and reading the screenplay,” he added of The Fantastic Four. “A lot of it is assessing where I fit into that story and how to best utilize my time in it. You don’t want to make choices or do things that are redundant in a film. It’s important to know what the film is and what everyone’s jobs are so that you’re bringing your own unique take to something. That was incredibly important in BlacKkKlansmen. I was playing one of a half dozen racist idiots in the film, and you have to bring your own racist idiot to the table. It can’t just be everybody else’s. Whenever I’m in an ensemble, I’m trying to figure out how to be unique or specific without being distracting.” 

Marvel Studios’ The Fantastic Four: First Steps — starring Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, Ebon Mass-Bachrach, John Malkovich, Paul Walter Hauser, Natasha Lyonne, Julia Garner as the Shalla-Bal Silver Surfer and Ralph Ineson as Galactus — opens only in theaters July 25th, 2025, as part of the MCU Phase 6.

Marvel Studios’ upcoming film slate includes Captain America: Brave New World (February 14th, 2025), Thunderbolts* (May 5th, 2025), The Fantastic Four: First Steps (July 25th, 2025), Blade (November 7th, 2025), Avengers: Doomsday (May 1st, 2026), and Avengers: Secret Wars (May 7th, 2027).