The Fantastic Four: First Steps - How the film brought Silver Surfer and Galactus to life 

The Fantastic Four: First Steps finally gives us what fans have been waiting for: Silver Surfer and Galactus in all their cosmic glory. But instead of just dropping them in as flashy cameos or big bads with no depth, the movie actually takes time to make them feel real. Not just visually, but emotionally too. The single teaser clip of Julia Garner as the Silver Surfer, heralding Galactus' arrival, was enough to get fans more excited about the story's premise.

What really makes their introduction work is how grounded it feels, even though they’re both galactic beings. The team behind The Fantastic Four: First Steps clearly wanted them to fit into the MCU without losing the weird, philosophical energy they have in the comics. It’s not all CGI and chaos either. There’s real texture to how they look, move, and interact with the world. And the story builds toward their arrival like something sacred is happening.

Here's everything you need to know about how The Fantastic Four: First Steps managed to pull that off and why it feels like a turning point for Marvel’s next phase.

How The Fantastic Four: First Steps brought Galactus and the Silver Surfer to life

Let’s talk about Galactus first. Played by Ralph Ineson, this version is a full-on cosmic titan. Director Matt Shakman made the bold call to bring him to life using a giant, tangible costume on set so actors could actually feel the weight of his presence. This wasn’t just green screen wizardry. From articulated fingers to a towering silhouette built to look and move like a living sculpture, everything about him was designed to overwhelm. The Fantastic Four: First Steps even used special camera techniques and visual tricks to make him look 1,000 feet tall. And Ineson’s voice? Deep, metallic, and ancient, like the sound of the universe folding in on itself. It’s not evil for evil’s sake; it’s the sound of inevitability.

Talking about his costume in The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Ineson said in an interview with Marvel,

"To see myself in the costume was amazing. It is a complete work of art, and [I loved] seeing the way they’ve shot that costume to make him see a thousand feet tall. The first time I saw it was when I was doing ADR, replacing a dialogue line. The way it works is a line goes across the screen, and when it hits the end of the screen, that’s your key to start the line. I’m watching it, and the camera’s drifting over this huge Death Star-type landscape, and I’m thinking, “When does he appear? How can it be my line?” Then [I realized], “Oh, that’s my shoulder.” The scale of it was breathtaking to see."

He then added what his favorite part of the costume was, as he said,

"The gauntlet and the hands were just so amazingly articulated. Every single joint of the fingers could work. I could spin a ball with the fingers. Everything worked so amazingly, so it was easy to do my job, even with this ridiculously huge costume."

Then there’s the Silver Surfer, only this time, it’s Shalla-Bal, played by Julia Garner. Sleek, haunted, and majestic, she’s brought to life through cutting-edge motion capture that gives her every glide across the skyline a weightless, balletic quality. Garner trained with surfers and yoga coaches to perfect the flow of a character forever torn between duty and mercy.

The actress opened up on how she prepared for the role, as she told the outlet,

"All of it was motion-capture, so it wasn’t practical. I look a lot more fit in this [film] than in real life. [Laughs]. But before I went to London [to film], I took some surf lessons to be familiar with the board and move like a surfer. Then, we had a surf instructor on set that showed me different moves. It was like trying to put together dance and surf at the same time, in a way."

Surfer's chilling voice is an integral part of The Fantastic Four: First Steps, and talking about how she prepared that voice, Garner said,

"A few different things. What helped me find the voice was I was listening to a lot of T.S. Eliot poems — his own poetry that he was reading out loud. His delivery I found quite interesting, and it felt somewhat right for this. And then also her human emotions, her feelings. She’s processing it and then blocking it in a way. She’s trying to block, but there’s only so much blocking you can do."

More details about Galactus and Silver Surfer in The Fantastic Four: First Steps

Galactus and Silver Surfer emerge in The Fantastic Four: First Steps not as distant threats, but as foundational forces reshaping the MCU’s cosmic landscape. Ralph Ineson's Galactus, a towering, ancient entity described by director Matt Shakman as a “humongous 14‑billion‑year‑old cosmic vampire” who consumes planets to survive. Ineson emphasized that Galactus isn’t driven by malice; he’s simply fulfilling his role, “a god, of sorts,” acting through cosmic necessity rather than intent.

Julia Garner takes on the role of Silver Surfer in The Fantastic Four: First Steps, a herald who serves Galactus but also struggles with internal conflict and moral weight. Her entrance in Times Square, where she calmly announces, “Your planet is now marked for death,” isn’t just dramatic; it feels chilling, but with depth.

Narratively, both characters elevate The Fantastic Four: First Steps' stakes. Galactus arrives not solely to destroy but to harvest the unborn Franklin Richards, seen as a potential nexus of Power Cosmic, and offers Earth a grim ultimatum. His presence forces the Fantastic Four into a high-stakes moral choice about sacrifice, survival, and cosmic legacy.

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The Fantastic Four: First Steps brings Galactus and the Silver Surfer to life with the gravity they’ve always deserved. There’s scale, soul, and storytelling that finally feels worthy of their legacy. It’s not just spectacle; it’s a promise that the cosmic side of the MCU is ready to rise, for real this time.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps is now available in theaters.

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