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THE FANTASTIC FOUR rumor claims Julia Garner’s Silver Surfer will only appear once in the MCU

THE FANTASTIC FOUR rumor claims Julia Garner’s Silver Surfer will only appear once in the MCU

In April we received confirmation that The Fantastic Four introduces a female version of 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 film’s Surfer, but not a gender-swapped version of 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 offered to become his herald in exchange for sparing Zenn-La. Later, when Franklin Richards took over as the new Galactus, he gave Shalla the same cosmic powers and had her serve as a twin herald alongside Radd.

Now, The Cosmic Circus‘ Alex Perez reports that Garner will most likely be a ‘one and done’ and will not reprise her role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe afterThe Fantastic Four.

With Kevin Feige recently confirming that the film will be set in an alternate universe, this isn’t really surprising as it suggests that Marvel’s First Family will be variations from another part of the Multiverse that will eventually make their way into the main MCU timeline. This leaves the door open for Norrin Radd to be introduced as the MCU’s main Silver Surfer later on.

Cameras are expected to roll by the end of the month (the day after SDCC, according to Feige) and cast members have now arrived in London ahead of rehearsals, which are expected to begin this week.

Photographers recently captured 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 the roles of Sue Storm, aka the Invisible Woman, and Joseph Quinn (Stranger Things, a quiet place, day one), who will “continue” as Johnny Storm, aka The Human Torch, who arrives for dinner at the Chiltern Firehouse with director Matt Shakman.

There was no sign of Ebon Moss-Bachrach (The Punisher, The Bear), who was cast at the time as Ben Grimm, also known as The Thing, but is believed to have since joined his cast.

Galactus has also been confirmed as the main villain, and he will be played by Ralph Ineson (The Witch, Game of Thrones).

The Fantastic Four will hit theaters on July 25, 2025.