Anchorman director Adam McKay very nearly ended up helming Ant-Man for Marvel Studios, but has instead spent the past few years making an impact with critically acclaimed movies like The Big Short and Vice.
However, the filmmaker still has an interest in the superhero genre, and as he's said in the past, Silver Surfer is a project he remains keen to bring to the big screen. The last time McKay spoke about that, the rights to Galactus' Herald were still held by 20th Century Fox, but a lot has changed since then, and the Surfer is now part of the Marvel Studios stable.
Talking on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, McKay expressed an interest in catching up with Kevin Feige and company to discuss the hero, and shared his thoughts on where he'd take the cosmic character.
"Silver Surfer was tricky. There was something about it, because we did look into it," he explains. "I think it's connected to the Fantastic Four and because of that kind of lives under its own umbrella. But there was something that got in the way of it cause we did look into it a couple of years ago, but I could be wrong. I could be misremembering, but there was some reason it didn't happen or someone else was already working on it. But no, I was definitely into it because that would be a very easy one."
"If you look at Galactus and the origin story of the Silver Surfer, how he sacrificed himself for his home planet. Norrin Radd, was that his name? I haven't thought that name in a long time. That would be a very easy one to make it an environmental allegory. I think that could be an incredible movie, and I think it could be visually the most stunning Marvel movie that's ever been made. I haven't lost interest in that. In fact, now that you mention it maybe I'll lob a phone call and see what's going on."
It sounds like McKay had some really interesting ideas for the Silver Surfer, and it's a shame the pieces didn't fall into place so this movie could become a reality. Now that the hero is part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, you have to believe he's high on Feige's list of priorities, and the director could get his chance to put his spin on the Fantastic Four ally sooner rather than later.
For now, though, we'd bank on seeing both Galactus and his Herad in Jon Watts' upcoming reboot...
Click on the "Next" button below to see 10
Fantastic Four villains we want to see in the MCU!
10. Mole Man
You might be wondering why we're kicking off this list with one of the Fantastic Four's "lamest" villains, but there's actually more to Harvey Rupert Elder than meets the eye. After being rejected by "surface-dwellers" for his hideous appearance, he went underground and discovered a hidden subterranean world where he found and started to rule over the monstrous Moloids.
A classic villain who appeared in the very first issue of Fantastic Four, pitting the team against Mole Man makes perfect sense, and it would be awesome to see the heroes battle massive creatures who rise up from beneath the Earth. There's no denying that this is a character with a lot of potential and a modern reinvention could be exactly what this franchise needs.
Honestly, going back to basics by pitting the team against a classic baddie feels right for this reboot.
9. Annihilus
Annihilus is one of the Marvel Universe's most deadly villains and controls the inhabitants of the Negative Zone with his powerful Cosmic Control Rod. After the Fantastic Four travelled to his home, they became instant enemies and have clashed numerous times over the years (Annihilus was also responsible for the Human Torch's apparent death during one of their battles).
The previous Fantastic Four movies really didn't take advantage of the Negative Zone, and seeing as we've already been introduced to the Quantum Realm, it wouldn't be overly difficult to tie the two locations together. Throw in the fact that that Annihilus later takes control of the universe threatening Annihilation Wave, and this movie could set the stage for future stories too.
He'd make a pretty effective big bad for the cosmic side of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, that's for sure.
8. The Frightful Four
One compelling idea could be to pit the titular team of heroes against a team of villains.
Many bad guys have been part of the Frightful Four over the years and Jon Watts could take his pick when it comes to who he includes. The Wizard should be the leader, though, as he's been a constant throughout the team's history and his intelligence very nearly matches Reed Richards.
Trapster is also a must, while the likes of Thundra and Titania are definitely ready for their respective big screen debuts. Marvel could even reinvent some of the Fantastic Four's more obscure bad guys (Dragon Man, for example) for this group, and while four antagonists might seem like a little much for a first outing, this group is definitely one that should be utilised in the MCU one day.
7. Doctor Doom
This is a tricky one. After all, Doctor Doom has had a prominent role in all three
Fantastic Four movies, and Marvel Studios might be reluctant to head back down that route despite how popular the villain is and how much potential a comic accurate version has on screen.
If Victor Von Doom does return here, however, he absolutely should not gain his "powers" at the same time as the team because that's a lazy storytelling device we've seen far too many times now.
Instead, he should have that shared history with Reed Richards when they were in college and become the ruler of Latveria in the interim. His powers need to be rooted in magic (there's precedent for that now we've met characters like Doctor Strange and the Scarlet Witch), and while Doom must be introduced in this franchise, he absolutely has the potential to be a foe to the whole MCU.
6. Galactus
Remember when Galactus was a cloud? Good times, eh? Well, Marvel Studios now has the chance to make that right, and just like Doctor Doom and Annihilus, this is a character who can first make his presence felt in
Fantastic Four before returning down the line to pose a greater threat to the entire MCU (so, yeah, that's three potential big bads all coming from this one franchise).
Thinking about it, an adaptation of Galactus' first appearance in the Fantastic Four comic books would be pretty much perfect, and we know that Kevin Feige is a big fan of both him the Silver Surfer as he offered Fox the chance to keep Daredevil in exchange for those two once upon a time.
If nothing else, don't be surprised if the Surfer shows up in a post-credits scene to set the stage for a future Galactus appearance because this is a villain with unlimited potential.
5. Molecule Man
He may have served as an ally to Marvel's First Family in recent years, but Molecule Man started off as a villain and he's someone who has nearly ended the team on more than one occasion. His power levels are off the charts and he has the ability to control all matter and energy, something which would tie in nicely to Marvel's potential plans to adapt the newer version of
Secret Wars.
Initially, it's easy to imagine fans being disappointed about Molecule Man taking centre stage in Fantastic Four, but similar to how Marvel Studios has reinvented a whole host of B and C list villains over the years, there's no reason why they couldn't take this unhinged powerhouse and make him an A-Lister. There are plenty of great comic book arcs to turn to for inspiration, as well.
Just like Yellowjacket in Ant-Man, this could be an unexpected, yet intriguing, choice of villain here.
4. Super-Skrull
The Skrulls first appeared in the MCU in
Captain Marvel, but there was no sign of the Super-Skrull. That's because Fox previously held the rights to that character, but with the merger long complete, there's no reason why the monstrous alien can't unleash the full extent of his powers - most of which are based on the Fantastic Four's abilities - on the team in this reboot.
Now, he's probably not interesting enough to be much more than a secondary villain, but if the Kree/Skrull War is coming to the MCU (or whatever we see in Secret Invasion), then laying the groundwork for that here by introducing some new, villainous "Super" Skrulls would be a lot of fun.
Of all the bad guys listed here, the Super-Skrull probably isn't a priority for Marvel Studios, but it would be nice to see him get the spotlight, especially as a foe to Marvel's First Family.
3. Blastaar
Annihilus is definitely a villain Marvel Studios should consider using in
Fantastic Four, but if they want to take a slow-burn approach to exploring the Negative Zone, then kicking things off with Blastaar might be a smart move. One of Annihilus' many enemies, Blastaar has spent a long time competing for control of this dimension and that's led to a lot of clashes with the heroic team.
After we've spent so much time with a great alien bad guy like Thanos, Marvel Studios would have to do a lot to ensure that Blastaar doesn't come across as just another generic CGI villain, and that c ouldmean making some changes while bringing him from page to screen. With that in mind, it might actually be smarter to use him as a secondary baddie.
Regardless, there's still a lot of purposes he could fill in that role, even just as someone for The Thing to fight!
2. Namor The Sub-Mariner
There have been rumblings that Namor is going to make his presence felt in a Phase 4, but regardless of whether that's true or not, he would make for a great lead villain in this movie. He's jumped between his hero and villain status many times over the years and has often attacked the surface world (his affections for Sue Storm also led to him kidnapping her at one point).
Even if Marvel Studios decides not to go down the love triangle route, seeing the Fantastic Four enter the Marvel Universe's version of Atlantis would be really special. If they want to do something fresh and different with the franchise, it's hard to imagine a better way of achieving that than using this iconic comic book character as the lead villain in this planned reboot.
From there, he could get his own solo outing or even join the X-Men given his history as a mutant.
1. Hyperstorm
Here's where things get a little weird.
Avengers: Endgame introduced the idea of time-travel, so why not make use of the future son of Franklin Richards and Rachel Summers? While neither of those mutants will make their presence felt in the MCU for a while, this insanely powerful character arriving in the present day from his post-apocalyptic future has a great deal of potential.
After all, it would allow Marvel Studios to tie the Fantastic Four and X-Men franchises together, while also teasing what's to become of Earth if the Sentinels' mission to wipe out mutants is allowed to play out. There's no denying that Hyperstorm's introduction would be tough to pull off, but providing it's handled carefully, this choice of villain could have some major ramifications.
We're sure the Multiverse could even factor into how this crazy storyline plays out on screen.