Tim Blake Nelson joins 'The Fantastic Four' as The Mole Man

Character actor Tim Blake Nelson is in final negotiations for a role in the Fantastic Four reboot as Harvey Elder. Elder is known to comic fans as The Mole Man, the subterranean super-villain who commands an army of monsters known as Moloids. 

 

Josh Trank is directing the reboot which depicts the adventures and ostensibly the origins of the First Family of the Marvel Comics universe. Currently, the cast consists of Miles Teller as inventive genius Reed Richards (Mr. Fantastic), Jamie Bell as his streetwise best friend Ben Grimm (The Thing), Kate Mara as Reed's girlfriend Susan Storm (The Invisible Woman) and Michael B. Jordan as her hot-headed brother, Johnny (The Human Torch).

 

The Fantastic Four were last seen on the big screen in 2007 with 'Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer.' Both 'Rise' and its predecessor, 2005's 'Fantastic Four' featured Ioan Gruffudd, Michael Chiklis, Jessica Alba and Chris Evans as the four heroes with Nip/Tuck's Julian McMahon as their nemesis, Doctor Doom. Prior to that, the Fantastic Four were the subject of an ill-fated low-budget adaptation produced produced by low-budget specialist Roger Corman in 1994.

 

 

While the reboot is set to reignite excitement over the moribund property, signs are that 20th Century Fox is eyeing it as part of a 'megafranchise,' much like Disney's Avenger-centric Marvel Cinematic Universe. According to sources of The Hollywood Reporter, Nelson, who is best known for his role as Delmar O'Donnell from 'O Brother, Where Art Thou', will not appear as THE Mole Man, but his appearance will set up the character as a potential villain in a later installment, though Fox has yet to comment on that. 

 

This marks the second time Nelson has secured a key character role in a Marvel movie. In 2008's The Incredible Hulk, Nelson portrayed the eccentric biologist Samuel Sterns who, in the comics, later becomes The Leader, a villain with a gamma irradiated brain. This development was foreshadowed in that film. However, the film's primary antagonist will once again be Doctor Doom, to be played by English actor Toby Kebbell, and his army of Doombots. 

 

Based on the youthful, contemporary vibe of the 'Ultimate Fantastic Four' comics, 'The Fantastic Four' is scheduled to hit theaters on June 19, 2015. — TJD, GMA News