Marvel Studios casts Julia Garner as Shalla-Bal in The Fantastic Four movie; the character is described as “a version of Silver Surfer.”

It has just been reported that Marvel’s The Fantastic Four has cast an actor for the MCU’s Silver Surfer. The Silver Surfer has been a hotly anticipated addition to the MCU, with many speculating who might play the cosmic character. The Silver Surfer’s addition also likely confirms that Galactus will play a role in The Fantastic Four’s story.

We have confirmed that actor Julia Garner will be playing the role of the Silver Surfer in The Fantastic Four. This version of the Surfer will be Shalla-Bal, a character who is Silver Surfer’s love interest in Marvel Comics. This is a change of pace from what many might have expected, given Norrin Radd is the more traditional choice for the Silver Surfer.

Who Is Marvel’s Silver Surfer Character Shalla-Bal?

In Marvel Comics’ main continuity, Shalla-Bal is the main love interest of Norrin Radd aka the Silver Surfer. For a while, the pair repeated a cycle of wanting to be together, but being torn apart due to circumstances or Norrin’s dedication to his work. Later, Shalla-Bal becomes the Keeper of the Great Truth, making it her mission to enforce her planet’s culture on others across the galaxy. This brings her into conflict with the Silver Surfer and some of Earth’s other heroes.

Shalla-Bal has also been the Silver Surfer before, in the alternate reality of Marvel’s Earth-9997. In this universe, Franklin Richards becomes a new version of Galactus and gives Shalla-Bal the same powers as Norrin Radd, so that they can both be Silver Surfers together. It seems unlikely that this will be the version of Shalla-Bal’s story used in the MCU, since it is such a different universe from Marvel’s main 616 continuity. It seems likely that the Shalla-Bal Silver Surfer of the MCU will be closer to Norrin Radd’s typical character.

Who Is Julia Garner & What Is She Known For?

Julia Garner is perhaps best known for her role as Ruth in the Netflix series Ozark, as well as Inventing Anna. Following the conclusion of Ozark, Garner also starred in the movie, The Royal Hotel. The actress is set to appear in Universal’s upcoming Wolf Man reboot, which will release the same year as The Fantastic Four. Similar to previous Marvel stars, while Garner has demonstrated her talents in several roles, she has yet to become a major star. This puts her in a similar boat as her The Fantastic Four co-star, Joseph Quinn, who will play the Human Torch.