The Scene That Could've Changed Everything
There's a certain thrill when an actor talks about what didn't make the final cut. It's like unearthing cinematic ghosts—half-formed, shadowy ideas of what a film might've been if only someone had let the reel run a few minutes longer. Vanessa Kirby just handed us one of those ghosts on a silver platter.
While promoting The Fantastic Four: First Steps—Marvel Studios' upcoming reboot set for release on May 2, 2025—Kirby dropped a nuclear-level gem during her Variety interview. Turns out, there was a scrapped scene where her Sue Storm quietly threatens Mole Man (played by Paul Walter Hauser) with an aneurysm. No joke.
“There was a line within a scene that isn't in it anymore with Mole Man… she said something like, ‘I could give you an aneurysm if I wanted to in two seconds.'”
And just like that, the MCU's Invisible Woman stopped being the team's nurturing force-field generator and became something much sharper—almost scary.
Good. She should be.
Comic Book Accuracy, But With a Pulse
If you've read any run of Fantastic Four worth its ink, you know this isn't just shock value. Kirby's quote references direct comic canon. Sue Storm, aka Invisible Woman, has long been capable of unflinching violence—force fields in the lungs, air pockets in the brain, pressure domes that collapse organs if she really wants to. She's not just a defensive player. She's a goddamn scalpel.
That line—the aneurysm one—it's not just badass. It's thematically precise. It adds real stakes to her restraint. MCU characters too often come fully pre-packaged in moral clarity. But here, Kirby hints at something closer to what should define a superhero: dangerous people choosing not to be.
“It felt so real to me that somebody that's trying to be a force for good also has the capacity… for the light and the dark.”
God, I wish Marvel had kept that line in. Instead, we'll probably get another glowy blue CGI moment where everyone holds hands and learns the power of teamwork. Spare me.
The Subterranea Scene: Whiskey, Pregnancy, and Supervillains
Kirby didn't stop at just one cut scene either. There's another missing moment—early in the film—where Sue goes down to Mole Man's lair, Subterranea, for what sounds like an unexpected blend of diplomacy and old-school noir.
“Sue goes and kinda kicks back and has a drink with him. Well, she can't because she's pregnant, but he pours her water, and she wishes it was whiskey.”
That line alone? More human than half the MCU's last phase. Sue Storm, craving a drink, stuck in a mine with a lonely, weird villain, trying to connect? That's the kind of offbeat interpersonal energy we need more of in comic book movies. It's also the exact sort of scene Marvel typically edits out in favor of another drone shot of the multiverse collapsing.
This moment also reminds us: these aren't just superheroes—they're professionals, workers, human beings with bad days and moral flexibility. And Fantastic Four should lean into that weirdness. The Mole Man is a tragicomic relic, but in Paul Walter Hauser's hands, there's potential for something deeply odd and strangely sad. The MCU should want that. But Marvel often plays it safe, and safe rarely sticks.
Why Marvel Keeps Cutting the Good Stuff
This isn't just about Kirby or Mole Man. This is a pattern. Marvel Studios has made an unfortunate habit of slicing out emotionally risky material. It's not new—remember the Thor: Love and Thunder deleted scenes with Gorr that actually gave him depth? Or the original Black Widow opening that felt too “serious”? Gone. Trimmed. Sanitized.
And now, with Fantastic Four: First Steps, they've axed what sounds like one of the most character-defining sequences for Sue Storm. A woman with the power to rupture your heart… who still smiles politely and asks for water instead of whiskey. That's layered. That's human. That's cinema.
Final Thought: What We Lose in the Cutting Room
Here's the tragedy. These aren't just bonus scenes for nerds. These are the soul of the story. The humanity. The messiness. The choice not to use power—that's where character lives. And in Kirby's description of those lost moments, I saw a Sue Storm I've never seen on screen before. Complicated. Lethal. Tired.
So yes, fingers crossed these deleted scenes show up in the Blu-ray release later in 2025. But more than that, I hope Marvel starts trusting its actors—and its audience—with nuance. Because if Kirby's Sue Storm doesn't get to be dangerous and maternal, cool-headed and exhausted, force-field-wielding and whiskey-craving… then what are we even doing?
