Many fans are unhappy with The Fantastic Four: First Steps featuring a female Silver Surfer. However, the movie is set in an alternate reality, with a completely different character, Shalla-Bal, serving as Galactus' Herald instead of Norrin Rad (which was also the case in the Earth X comic book).
Doing the rounds to promote Wolf Man, Julia Garner spoke with Who What Wear and explained why she decided to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
"Going into the Marvel space was a big interest," she tells the site. "I feel like what a lot of actors don't value enough is trying to reach every kind of audience. I think that's really important. I'd be crazy to expect that everybody is going to watch Inventing Anna or Ozark or The Assistant. But to reach all kinds of people and build fans from everywhere? I was really excited to step into that universe."
"With the Silver Surfer, there's still something very mysterious about it," Garner continues. "That mystery is very important to me as an actor. It's such an iconic character, and it felt very different for me. I've never played a character like that."
The actor then confirmed that the role presented a unique challenge because it meant she had to don a motion-capture costume for the first time in her career. "You have to imagine everything when you're doing it, as if you're auditioning," she recalled. "Even though we had the sets, I didn't have my costume or hair and makeup or anything."
This isn't a huge surprise as it's the same way the Silver Surfer was brought to life in 2007's Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. However, the main difference is that Doug Jones did the on-set work in that movie, with Laurence Fishburne voicing the hero in post-production.
In contrast, Garner was on set the entire time and that should mean we see a lot more of her performance in the MCU's Shalla-Bal.
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.
The movie is set to be released in theaters on July 25, 2025.