Fantastic Four 2025 Releases First Deleted Scene, And Cutting It Was A Huge Mistake

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A recently released deleted scene from *The Fantastic Four: First Steps* suggests a key villain could have had a more impactful role. It’s well known that many scenes were cut from the film, significantly reducing its length from what was initially planned and hoped for by fans. As a result, characters like Paul Walter Hauser’s Mole Man and John Malkovich’s Red Ghost had their screen time drastically cut, with Red Ghost ultimately appearing very little in the final movie.

Mole Man first appeared in the televised debut of *The Fantastic Four*, where he attempted to steal the Pan Am Building to expand his underground realm, Subterranea. The Fantastic Four stopped him, but Sue Storm managed to negotiate a truce. Mole Man admitted, “I don’t trust surface dwellers, I never have. But I do trust Sue.” He largely disappeared until the arrival of Galactus, when the Fantastic Four called on him for assistance. Despite his ongoing conflict with Reed Richards and the surface world, Sue convinced Mole Man to offer Subterranea as a safe haven for New York City’s population.

After Marvel announced the digital release of *The Fantastic Four: First Steps* on September 23rd, a deleted scene from the bonus features was revealed – and many fans think it should have been included in the final cut.

In this scene, Vanessa Kirby plays Sue Storm as she travels to the hidden underground world of Subterranea to find Paul Walter Hauser’s Mole Man. She surprises him after learning he’d been talking about possibly starting a rebellion.

Following some broken sewer lines, Mole Man reported finding people living in sewage beneath Staten Island. Sue Storm, however, stated that her Future Foundation team was already addressing the issue.

In the end, Sue, who was very pregnant, made an agreement to hire skilled workers from Subterranea to repair the city’s sewers.

The full deleted scene can be seen below:

The deleted scene, “Subterranea,” is one of five extra scenes that will be included as bonus content on the home video release of *The Fantastic Four*.

  • “Thanksgiving Soup Kitchen”
  • “Fantastic Four Day”
  • “Subterranea”
  • “Birthday Sweater”
  • “Taking Turns”

You’ll be able to download or stream *The Fantastic Four: First Steps* starting Tuesday, September 23. It will be available on DVD and Blu-ray on October 14. While a release date on Disney+ hasn’t been confirmed, it’s anticipated to happen sometime later in 2024.

Why The Fantastic Four: First Steps Needed More Mole Man

Paul Walter Hauser’s character, Mole Man, played a key role in the exciting finale of The Fantastic Four: First Steps, even helping to evacuate New York. However, because he’d only been shown very briefly at the beginning of the film, his decision to assist people on the surface didn’t feel as meaningful as it could have been.

While this cut scene wouldn’t have completely fixed the problem, it would have given us a little more insight into Mole Man’s feelings about the surface world and explained his surprising trust in Sue Storm – a trust that eventually helped save people.

Many viewers feel Mole Man didn’t have enough screen time, which was a missed opportunity considering Paul Walter Hauser’s talent. Hauser recently won an Emmy for his work on Apple TV+’s *Black Bird* and received critical acclaim, even Oscar buzz, for his performance in the 2019 film *Richard Jewell*.

It’s disappointing for fans of John Malkovich, but it appears his cut role as the Red Ghost in *The Fantastic Four* won’t be included in the upcoming deleted scenes.

I heard Red Ghost was originally going to have a small part, with his Super Apes helping to construct the teleporters to stop Galactus. But director Matt Shakman has suggested both he and Mole Man could definitely reappear in future movies, so I’m hoping we haven’t seen the last of them, especially with a sequel in the works!

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2025-09-16 20:35