Back in April, we got confirmation that The Fantastic Four will introduce a female take on Marvel Comics' classic space-faring hero, the Silver Surfer - but not the version of the character fans are most familiar with.
Emmy Award-winner Julia Garner (Ozark, Inventing Anna) will play the movie's Surfer, but not a gender-switched take on Norrin Radd. Garner will actually take on the role of Shalla-Bal.
In the original Marvel Comics continuity, Shalla-Bal was the Empress of the planet Zenn-La, and was the first love of Norrin Radd. When Galactus came to devour their planet, Radd volunteered to become his herald in exchange for sparing Zenn-La. Later, when Franklin Richards took over as the new Galactus, he imbued Shalla with the same cosmic powers and allowed her to serve as a twin herald alongside Radd.
Now, The Cosmic Circus' Alex Perez is reporting that Garner will most likely be a "one and done," and won't reprise her role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe post-The Fantastic Four.
With Kevin Feige recently confirming that the movie will be set in an alternate universe, this isn't really too surprising, as it indicates that Marvel's First Family will be Variants from some other part of the Multiverse that will eventually find their way to the main MCU timeline. This leaves the door open for Norrin Radd to be introduced as the main MCU Silver Surfer down the line.
Cameras are expected to start rolling on towards the end of the month (the day after SDCC, according to Feige), and cast members have now begun to arrive in London ahead of rehearsals, which should be getting underway this week.
Photographers recently snapped Pedro Pascal (Game of Thrones, The Last of Us), who will play Reed Richards, aka Mr. Fantastic, Vanessa Kirby (Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning), who will play as Sue Storm, aka the Invisible Woman, and Joseph Quinn (Stranger Things, A Quiet Place Day One), who will "flame on" as Johnny Storm, aka The Human Torch, arriving for dinner at the Chiltern Firehouse along with director Matt Shakman.
There was no sign of Ebon Moss-Bachrach (The Punisher, The Bear), who has been cast as Ben Grimm, aka the Thing, at the time, but he is since believed to have joined his cast-mates.
Galactus has also been confirmed as the main villain, and he'll be played by Ralph Ineson (The Witch, Game of Thrones).
The Fantastic Four is set to hit theaters on July 25, 2025.