We've long suspected that The Fantastic Four: First Steps will include Mole Man, but his presence in the movie has now been confirmed by Human Torch actor, Joseph Quinn.
It's unclear whether Harvey Elder will appear solely in the rumoured montage of previous battles the team has been involved in or if the villain and his monsters somehow factor into Galactus' attack on Earth. We also don't know who plays him, though Paul Walter Hauser is a likely candidate.
"It's a certainly a very stacked cast," Quinn told fans at CCXPMX 25. "We've got a lot of fantastic characters in there. There's also Mole Man, who's wonderful in it, but Galactus is the big bad."
"He's the big, evil, planet-gobbling space God. And he's played brilliantly by the wonderful Ralph [Ineson]," Quinn added. "Silver Surfer, played by the wonderful Julia Garner...we're very lucky to work with her. She's excellent in the film. There [are] lots of brilliant characters."
Mole Man, also known as Harvey Rupert Elder, was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby and first appeared in Fantastic Four #1 in 1961.
After being ridiculed and rejected by his peers for his theories about there being a legendary land at the Earth's core, Elder ventured into the depths of the Earth and encountered a subterranean race known as the Moloids. He was hailed as their ruler and adopted the moniker "Mole Man."
Pedro Pascal, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and Vanessa Kirby were also on hand to promote The Fantastic Four: First Steps, but the latter surprised everyone by revealing a real-life pregnancy bump.
While our congratulations go out to the Mission: Impossible star, some fans have wondered what this means for Avengers: Doomsday. Scarlett Johansson was pregnant while shooting 2015's Avengers: Age of Ultron, and Black Widow still had a lead role in the movie, so we've no doubt that Marvel Studios has taken that into account and scheduled accordingly.
Pascal confirmed at the event that he's returning to London today to continue filming Doomsday, while Kirby is believed to have been among the actors recently in Bahrain. Avengers: Secret Wars, meanwhile, likely won't begin shooting for another year or so.
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.
Paul Walter Hauser, John Malkovich, and Natasha Lyonne have been cast in mystery roles. Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom is rumoured to appear, though that's surely a given with Avengers: Doomsday on the way.
Director Matt Shakman worked with both Avatar: The Way of Water co-writer Josh Friedman and WandaVision's Cam Squires on The Fantastic Four: First Steps' screenplay, with Eric Pearson (Black Widow) later coming on board for a final polish.
The movie is set to be released in theaters on July 25, 2025.