Paul Walter Hauser made his MCU debut as Mole Man in The Fantastic Four: First Steps, and despite his brief screen time, he emerged as a highlight of the movie thanks to his hilarious scene in the Baxter Building.
Mole Man was originally going to feature more prominently, but director Matt Shakman has previously revealed that he cut a scene with Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby) paying a visit to the villain's home in Subterranea in an effort to forge a truce.
Hauser has now taken to Letterboxd to share his review of First Steps, and he gave the movie 3.5 stars. A solid rating, but it is rare to see an actor share such an honest and unbiased take on a project they appeared in.
"I love the score, the production design, the performances. I wish they hadn't cut my scene with Vanessa Kirby, but I'm stoked that I got to be in a Marvel movie (first world problem shit; I'm spoiled rotten to get to act). Excited to follow the Franklin story!!! #FantasticFive."
Here's what writer Eric Pearson had to say about the scene in question during a recent interview.
"There’s other scenes of Mole Man," Pearson confirmed to THR. "There was another scene with Sue where she goes down and talks to him about diplomacy, which was super fun and super funny. Movies are a tough stew. Sometimes you’ve got a great scene, and it’s just not the right flavor for the stew. But I was like, 'We can’t go back down there again. Let him come into Reed’s place and touch everything.' That was literally my pitch: 'I want Mole Man to come in.' I probably would’ve gone way too far if I was directing it. I wanted him touching every device like Baby Huey in Roger Rabbit, just going around messing with everything."
Hopefully, we will get to see this scene - even in its unfinished form - on the Blu-ray release.
First Steps stars Pedro Pascal (The Last of Us, The Mandalorian) as Reed Richards, aka Mr. Fantastic, Vanessa Kirby (Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning) as Sue Storm, aka the Invisible Woman, Joseph Quinn (Stranger Things, A Quiet Place Day One) as Johnny Storm, aka The Human Torch, Ebon Moss-Bachrach (The Punisher, The Bear) as Ben Grimm, aka the Thing, and Julia Garner (Wolf Man, Ozark) as the Silver Surfer.
Ralph Ineson plays Galactus, and Natasha Lyonne and Paul Walter Hauser are also on board in undisclosed roles. John Malkovich's Red Ghost has been cut from the movie.
"Set against the vibrant backdrop of a 1960s-inspired, retro-futuristic world, Marvel Studios' The Fantastic Four: First Steps introduces Marvel’s First Family—Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic (Pedro Pascal), Sue Storm/Invisible Woman (Vanessa Kirby), Johnny Storm/Human Torch (Joseph Quinn) and Ben Grimm/The Thing (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) as they face their most daunting challenge yet.
Forced to balance their roles as heroes with the strength of their family bond, they must defend Earth from a ravenous space god called Galactus (Ralph Ineson) and his enigmatic Herald, Silver Surfer (Julia Garner). And if Galactus’ plan to devour the entire planet and everyone on it weren’t bad enough, it suddenly gets very personal."
The Fantastic Four: First Steps is now in theaters.