Marvel's The Fantastic Four: First Steps just unveiled an exciting new glimpse at its fourth major villain, adding even more conflict to the highly anticipated 2025 film. As the MCU prepares to introduce its version of Marvel's First Family, fans have been eager for casting reveals, plot hints, and especially details on who the heroes will be up against.
A new promotional ad for The Fantastic Four: First Steps has confirmed the appearance of another classic Marvel villain: Giganto. The spot, created in partnership with Little Caesars, features the towering monster emerging from the street and grabbing a pizza-toting employee, only for the Fantastic Four to swoop in with their Fantasticar to save the day.
The fun crossover, which also promotes a special "Fantastic Four-N-One" pizza, offers fans their first official look at Giganto in action. His inclusion adds to the growing list of villains set to appear in the film, which hits theaters on July 25.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps stars Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm/Invisible Woman, Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm/Human Torch, and Ebon Moss‑Bachrach as Ben Grimm/The Thing. Recent footage confirms the introduction of baby Franklin Richards, the powerful son of Sue and Reed, suggesting an accelerated birth or time jump and hinting at his reality-warping role within the plot. At the forefront is Ralph Ineson's imposing Galactus, a towering, god-like cosmic entity giving the team their greatest threat yet.
The Fantastic Four's Confirmed Villains
Galactus
Galactus headlines The Fantastic Four: First Steps as the film's primary and most terrifying threat. Played by Ralph Ineson, this towering cosmic entity isn't just a villain; he's a force of nature, known in Marvel lore as the Devourer of Worlds. According to director Matt Shakman, Galactus will be introduced in a haunting way, with Reed Richards discovering that an entire star system (Proxima Delphi) has simply vanished, a chilling clue that sets the team on a collision course with the galactic giant.
Giganto
Giganto, the monstrous subterranean creature from Marvel's earliest days, is likely as one of the film's opening threats or possibly even a flashback. Originally created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, Giganto debuted on the cover of Fantastic Four #1, making it a fitting nod to the team's comic book roots.
The creature was recently reimagined in the tie-in comic Fantastic Four: First Steps #1, which dramatizes the team's first public battle and pays tribute to that iconic cover.
Standing at superhuman size with immense strength, endurance, and tunneling abilities, Giganto poses a physical threat few heroes could handle alone. However, his presence in the film is expected to be brief.
The full footage of the monsterous villain in the First Steps - Little Caesars cross-promotional commercial can be seen below:
Mole Man
Mole Man, one of the earliest and most iconic villains in Fantastic Four history, is officially confirmed to appear in Fantastic Four: First Steps. Actor Joseph Quinn, who plays Johnny Storm, recently revealed the character's inclusion during a convention appearance, though the actor playing Mole Man has not yet been announced. Many fans believe this could be the mystery role played by Paul Walter Hauser, who's confirmed to play an unknown role in First Steps.
In the comics, Mole Man is Harvey Rupert Elder, a brilliant but rejected nuclear engineer who discovers the underground world of Subterrania and becomes the ruler of the Moloids.
Red Ghost
John Malkovich is rumored to play Ivan Kragoff, also known as the Red Ghost, a Soviet scientist obsessed with replicating the Fantastic Four's cosmic-powered transformation. The character's comic book origin is rooted in 1960s Cold War tensions, making him a fitting addition to the film's retro-futuristic setting.
If Malkovich is indeed playing Red Ghost, it raises the question of whether his version will arrive with his iconic Super-Apes or be reimagined with a more grounded twist. Either way, his scientific ambition and ideological rivalry with Reed Richards could create a compelling secondary conflict.
BONUS: Silver Surfer
Julia Garner portrays the 2025 version of Silver Surfer (Shalla‑Bal) via motion capture in First Steps. While historically, Silver Surfer is not a pure villain in the comics, she often serves Galactus by warning worlds of their fate and delivering his devastating verdict, placing her morally ambiguous.
Early trailer footage shows her hurling Johnny Storm like a ragdoll, demonstrating immense power, but her role leans more toward cosmic envoy than pure antagonist. Unlike Galactus, whose goal is planetary consumption, Silver Surfer's mission aligns with her cosmic code, complicating whether she opposes the heroes or serves a higher purpose.
