The recently released The Fantastic Four: First Steps introduces a new take on Marvel’s First Family and, along with them, comes another iteration of the Silver Surfer. Julia Garner plays the Shalla-Bal incarceration of the intergalactic herald. Of course, Garner isn’t the first actor to have ever been digitally encased in silver to play a version of the character. Doug Jones previously played a version of the protector nearly two decades ago. Now, Jones is weighing in on Garner playing a different version of the fan-favorite character.
Doug Jones played the Norrin Radd version of the shiny hero in 2007’s Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (which is streamable with a Disney+ subscription). More specifically, the imposing Jones provided the physical performance for the character, while Laurence Fishburne voiced Radd. Jones was among the veteran FF actors to attend the First Steps premiere in Los Angeles. It was there that he expressed his excitement for the movie, and he also shared positive thoughts about new version of the Surfer hitting the big screen:
I do wish Julia Garner well. I love what I’ve seen in the trailers so far. It’s a different take on the Surfer, and she does exist in the comic books as well. There’s source material to back her up. So I’m excited to see how they bring that to the film world.
After Doug Jones shared those comments with TheWrap (which were posted to X), he was able to see the film for himself during the premiere that evening. Jones took to his Instagram account to drop a post that included some sweet photos. Not only on that, but he also praised the film and commended his big-screen Surfer successor on her work. I love seeing Jones send such support and for pointing out that Shalla-Bal is also an established Marvel Comics character.
Julia Garner’s Silver Surfer casting was first reported upon back in April 2024 and, at that point, it was met with a myriad of responses. There was a sum of comic book fans who seemed enthused by the notion of seeing a different version of the Surfer in a film. However, there were others who responded negatively to the notion of a female iteration of the character being chosen for the FF’s first Marvel Cinematic Universe movie. Interestingly enough, Garner initially wondered how she could be in contention for the role as she thought the Surfer was just a male character. All of that aside, it speaks volumes that Doug Jones would be so supportive of Garner amid the backlash.
Shalla-Bal may be a different character, but she still serves the same purpose that Radd did in his movie debut. In First Steps, Shalla-Bal prepares the coming of the plant-devouring warlord, Galactus, who wants Reed Richards and Sue Storm’s child, Franklin for his own purposes. With that, the Surfer comes into conflict with the titular team in the 2025 movie release, and that results in what I find to be an entertaining story.
Having seen the film for myself, I can definitely say that Julia Garner gives a strong performance. Whether or not the character appears again at some point remains to be seen, but I’d surely be down for it. Not only that, but I’d also be down to see the always-jovel Doug Jones land a new Marvel role within the MCU. While I think about the characters he might be a great fit for, check out The Fantastic Four: First Steps in theaters now.
