Another interesting casting addition has been announced for Marvel’s upcoming production happening this summer, “Fantastic Four,” as we also have some character confirmations beyond the four superheroes (after their casting was finally confirmed back on Valentine’s Day, including the inclusion of the team’s robot pal H.E.R.B.I.E.). A new report from Deadline has revealed that actress Julia Garner has been tapped to play Shalla-Bal, a female incarnation of Galactus‘ cosmic herald, Silver Surfer (Norrin Radd being the version most known).

As everyone would suspect, Galactus will be the reboot’s villain. Although, we’re still waiting on who exactly is going to be playing the planet-eating being.

Shalla-Bal is an immortal Empress of Zenn-La and the lover of Norrin Radd in the comics. Radd accepts Galactus’ offer to become his herald (find planets without sentient life for him to destroy and consume) to save his own planet, including his love, Shalla-Bal. One of the more heartbreaking aspects of the Silver Surfer mythos is the two lovers being separated across the stars. This could be a sign that Marvel is looking to dig deeper than previous incarnations.

Garner, of course, isn’t a stranger to genre work after previously working on the acclaimed Netflix crime series “Ozark,” the Aussie-set thriller “The Royal Hotel,” the Robert Rodriguez sequel “Sin City: A Dame To Kill For,” a yet-to-be-released A24 horror thriller “Apartment 7A,” and is currently shooting Leigh Whannell’s “Wolf Man” remake at Universal Pictures as the studio attempts to expand their Universal Monsters franchise.

Matt Shakman (“WandaVision”) directs a cast that consists of Pedro Pascal (“The Last of Us”) as Dr. Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic, Vanessa Kirby (“Mission: Impossible” and “Fast & Furious” franchises) as Sue Storm/The Invisible Woman, Ebon Moss-Bachrach (“The Bear,” “Andor”) as Ben Grimm/The Thing, and Joseph Quinn (“Stranger Things”) as Johnny Storm/The Human Torch.

The current script was penned script by a collection of writers that include Josh Friedman, Jeff Kaplan, Eric Pearson, and Ian Springer.

We’re still curious about who is going to voice H.E.R.B.I.E., the team’s robot assistant that was previously announced by the studio. Many have assumed that we’ll be seeing Victor von Doom, aka Doctor Doom, in the new film. However, trades have yet to back up those claims, and the studio hasn’t selected an actor for that part, which could mean they’ll be aiming for a cosmic setting, allowing the characters to lean into the more cosmic stuff.

“Fantastic Four” is set to begin shooting later this year at Pinewood Studios UK and has a tentative release date of July 25, 2025 (prepare yourselves for a few more delays).

SOURCE: DEADLINE