Marvel has cast Julia Garner (Ozark, Inventing Anna) in The Fantastic 4 and she will take on the role of Shalla-Bal, who is an incarnation of Silver Surfer.
In the comics, Galactus has had several heralds, and these are individuals who are servants of the Devourer of Worlds. They scavenge the universe for desirable planets for their master to consume and they signal his coming. These heralds are bestowed with a fraction of Galactus’ Power Cosmic.
Galactus has had several female heralds over the years, so this isn’t something that hasn’t already happened in the comics. It was also previously rumored that this is the direction that the film would go for the character.
Shalla-Bal was created by Stan Lee and John Buscema in 1968’s Silver Surfer #1. The character was the Empress of the planet Zenn-La, a civilization of peace and enlightenment. Shalla-Bal was the love interest of Norrin Radd before he became the Silver Surfer, Galactus’ herald.
In an act of sacrifice, Radd offered to serve Galactus, the devourer of worlds, in exchange for the safety of his home planet and Shalla-Bal. She has gone through several transformations and roles within the Marvel Universe, from being a mortal to possessing cosmic powers given to her by Norrin.
Shalla-Bal continued to operate as a cosmic ruler in the Marvel Universe
There’s a lot of comic book lore that is sure to be thrown out the window when it comes to the story for this film, so we’ll have to wait and see what Marvel has planned for this version of Silver Surfer.
Garner joins Pedro Pascal (The Last of Us) as Reed Richards, Vanessa Kirby (Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning) as Sue Storm, aka the Invisible Woman; Joseph Quinn (Stranger Things) as Johnny Storm, aka the Human Torch; and Ebon Moss-Bachrach (The Punisher, The Bear) as Ben Grimm, aka the Thing.
The movie is set in the 1960s and it will be directed by Matt Shakman (WandaVision) from a screenplay by Josh Friedman, who was brought in to re-write the script originally written by Jeff Kaplan and Ian Springer.
Fantastic 4 will hit theaters on July 25, 2025.
