Julia Garner Cast as Silver Surfer in The Fantastic 4

Movies

The rumors were true again, disappointingly so this time. Deadline exclusively reports that Julia Garner has been cast as the Silver Surfer in The Fantastic 4, the upcoming Marvel movie based on the superhero team. Garner will not portray Norrin Radd, the traditional Silver Surfer who is a man, but Shalla-Bal, a paramour of Radd’s who, in an alternate universe depicted in a few limited series, is a second Silver Surfer (second to Radd, that is). Garner is best known for starring on the Netflix crime show Ozark; she also appeared on The Americans and Modern Love. The Fantastic 4 also stars Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm, Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm, and Ebon Moss-Bacharach as Ben Grimm, with rumors that either Javier Bardem or Antonio Banderas is being courted to play Galactus. The Fantastic 4, directed by Matt Shakman, is scheduled to hit theaters on July 25, 2025.

Is it an accident that this news broke on the same day the Disney proxy war ended in Bob Iger’s favor? It’s full steam ahead for the identity politics boat, and even now that they have a chance to return to the more traditional comic book movies that made them billions, Disney and Marvel are going woke once again. This whole “She’s not Norrin Radd; she’s Shalla-Bal” smokescreen isn’t fooling anyone; it’s their excuse to pretend that they’re following the comics and to give their social media sycophants an argument, half-assed though it may be. It’s like saying that making Lois Lane the DCU’s official Batman is perfectly fine because she wore Batman’s armor in a comic once, and I guarantee you that the same phonies who are going to pretend to be excited for the female Silver Surfer would pretend to love that, too. (“Ack-shoo-uh-lee, Lois Lane has always been Batman!”) I feel like I say this a lot now, but I’m disappointed even though I figured this was coming. That rumor sounded exactly like something the MCU would do in its current form, and Jeff Sneider, who first reported it, was right about everything else related to The Fantastic 4. This could have been the movie to turn it all around; making a fresh start with The Fantastic 4 would have been perfect. Now, I’m more worried about Deadpool & Wolverine because Disney and Marvel can’t be trusted. At best, that will be a brief reprieve before we get more woke garbage. Now, get set to hear about how the Power Cosmic was never that powerful or cosmic until a woman wielded it.