Julia Garner Has Been Cast as a Female Version of One of the Most Notable Fantastic Four Characters

‘Fantastic Four’ is currently the hottest upcoming MCU movie some time ago release date and cast were announced, confirming what we’ve known for quite a while. Pedro Pascal will be MCU’s new Reed Richards, with Vanessa Kirby taking on the role of Sue Storm. The Thing and the Human Torch will be played by Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Joseph Quinn respectively.

Even though the main cast was announced relatively early we still had no idea who would play the supporting characters, now according to Deadline Julia Garner was cast as Shalla-Bal, a female version of Silver Surfer, which further supports the theory that this movie takes place in an alternate universe, which we recently wrote about.

Shala-Bal was fairly irrelevant Galactus Herald in the comics, she was first and foremost Radd’s love interest turn rogue.

Shalla-Bal was the first love of the Silver Surfer, Norrin Radd. They met when Norrin was grieving his mother’s death and were paired together by Zenn-Lavian tradition. Despite her love for him, Norrin was often distant, prioritizing his work over their relationship. Even after Norrin’s father’s suicide, Shalla-Bal remained devoted to him, hoping to become his wife. When Norrin became the Silver Surfer and left her behind, she was heartbroken. She longed to be with him, but he refused. Despite their forced separation, Shalla-Bal continued to pine for Norrin, lamenting his absence.

Shalla Bal has undergone various changes, including cloning, confusion, death, and revival. Despite these changes, her relationship with Silver Surfer remains marked by constant reunions and separations. At one point, she became Zenn-La’s Keeper of the Great Truth and tried to spread her planet’s culture throughout the universe using the Illuminatrix. She even turned The Thing into her herald. However, when she targeted Earth, Silver Surfer opposed her. In a desperate move to stop her, he destroyed the Illuminatrix, inadvertently erasing Zenn-La’s culture from the universe, including Zenn-La itself.

Shalla Bal will most likely be a minor villain that the Fantastic Four will go up against, possibly turning good in the process since her “evil” does not stem from general malevolence but rather from terrible things done to her.

Ever since the movie was announced rumors were spreading that female Silver Surfer would join the cast, and plenty of fans expected it to be Juno. Juno was Galactus’ Herald through and through. She was the daughter of Arimathes and granddaughter of Hercules who inherited a Heroic legacy from Greek mythology. When Hercules sacrificed himself to save the Andromeda Galaxy, Galactus noticed this act and was impressed by the heroics, offering Juno the position of his herald. Juno accepts and becomes the new Silver Surfer, gaining cosmic powers that allow her to travel through space with unparalleled grace and speed.

Her tenure as the Herald was marked by the fact that she didn’t let Galactus devour any civilized worlds.

We can’t be sure 100 % which version we’re going to get until the movie releases, but this is a pretty good sign that Galactus will end up being the main villain of the movie.

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