The Fantastic Four: First Steps director Matt Shakman prioritised practical filmmaking effects for the Marvel Studios reboot; that included building the entirety of Earth 828's Times Square and creating an actual costume for Galactus actor Ralph Ineson.
We've seen several behind-the-scenes shots of that, but new photos and footage show the actor fully transformed into the Devourer of Worlds. Ineson's Galactus looks amazing, and while visual effects were used to enhance the villain (and make him giant-size, of course), much of the actor's performance was clearly real.
Even the voice isn't that different from what we heard in The Fantastic Four: First Steps, and it's apparent that Ineson put a lot of himself into the towering big bad who rampaged through New York City in a bid to steal the Power Cosmic-wielding Franklin Richards.
This comes from the recent Digital release of the movie, so we'd recommend buying that to learn more about how this comic-accurate Galactus made the leap from page to screen.
During The Fantastic Four: First Steps' final act, Sue Storm and the Silver Surfer stranded the villain on the other side of the universe, meaning it will take him millions of years to return to Earth.
After Avengers: Secret Wars, Marvel's First Family is expected to join the same timeline as Earth's Mightiest Heroes and the X-Men. That means Galactus will likely be softly rebooted along with the Silver Surfer, who, moving forward, is surely going to be Norrin Radd instead of Shalla-Bal.
With any luck, Ineson will stick around, because he was superb in the role. In July, he addressed his MCU future. "There’s a lot to explore in the lore, and he is a big character in the whole universe. But I would be one of the last people to know whether they are going to bring Galactus back. That’s a decision for Kevin [Feige] and the big boys, but I’d obviously love to come back and do some more Galactus."
Ineson was also asked about donning Galactus's costume and the benefits that came with being able to wear more than just a motion-capture suit.
"I knew that superheroes wear superhero suits, so I immediately assumed it would be practical, not realizing what a naive thought that was. I didn’t realize how rare it is to try and do something on the scale of Galactus in a practical way," he revealed. "But from when I first met Matt, he spoke about it as if they were going to build a suit for me to play the character practically."
"It’s a great gift for an actor to be able to do that, and whilst I also did some motion-capture work, the majority of my stuff was practical and in costume," Ineson added. "So you really feel the part when you’ve got that kit on yourself."
You can take a closer look at The Fantastic Four: First Steps' take on Galactus in the X posts below.
In our review of The Fantastic Four: First Steps, we concluded, "The Fantastic Four is an exceptional introduction to the MCU’s First Family, and thanks to a Jack Kirby-infused feel that’s unlike anything we’ve seen before, it proves to be a quintessential superhero movie with Marvel Studios at its brilliant best.
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.
Also appearing are Natasha Lyonne as Rachel Rozman, Paul Walter Hauser as Harvey Elder/Mole Man, Sarah Niles as Lynne Nichols, and Mark Gatiss as Ted Gilbert. John Malkovich was set to play Red Ghost, but was cut due to time constraints.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps is directed by Matt Shakman from a screenplay by Josh Friedman and Eric Pearson and Jeff Kaplan & Ian Springer.
The movie is now available on Digital platforms, while its 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD release is set to follow on October 14.