The MCU's Herald of Galactus has finally been revealed!
Earlier today, Marvel Studios shared an action-packed new trailer for The Fantastic Four: First Steps (you can watch it here). Among the biggest talking points was our first look at Julia Garner's Silver Surfer, a character who has so far caused quite a bit of controversy.
The news that Galactus' Herald would be female wasn't well-received by some fans, even though this is likely Shalla-Bal rather than a gender-swapped Norrin Radd. There's even precedent for a female Surfer on the page, with the Earth X comic - an apparent source of inspiration for filmmaker Matt Shakman - putting her front and centre.
Marvel Studios has now shared some official stills from The Fantastic Four: First Steps, one of which offers a detailed look at the MCU's Silver Surfer. Judging by some shots in the trailer, the movie's VFX look like they could do with a polish, but that's the Silver Surfer, alright. There are still months left before that July release.
We anticipate eventually meeting Norrin Rad on Earth-616, with this movie's alternate reality setting a likely reason for Marvel Studios not wanting to use him here (especially as the expectation is that this world will be among those destroyed in Avengers: Doomsday).
"I can't really speak a lot about that project," Garner said back in January. "All I can just say is that I'm very lucky to have a part in that project, and the Fantastic Four are fantastic. They are so amazing in this. I'm very excited for people to see them."
"I'm assuming that this Silver Surfer is gonna be really shiny like in the other previous ones and the comic books," the actor added. "So, yeah, that's all I'm gonna say." She wasn't wrong!
To view the high-resolution version of these stills from The Fantastic Four: First Steps, simply click on the images below.
We also have a couple of 4K screenshots from the trailer offering a closer look at 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.
Paul Walter Hauser, John Malkovich, and Natasha Lyonne have been cast in mystery roles. Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom is rumoured to appear, though that's surely a given with Avengers: Doomsday on the way.
Director Matt Shakman worked with both Avatar: The Way of Water co-writer Josh Friedman and WandaVision's Cam Squires on The Fantastic Four: First Steps' screenplay, with Eric Pearson (Black Widow) later coming on board for a final polish.
The movie is set to be released in theaters on July 25, 2025.