Who is Julia Garner's Shalla-Bal? Here's why Silver Surfer is a woman in Fantastic Four: First Steps
Marvel's The Fantastic Four: First Steps trailer reveals Julia Garner as a female Silver Surfer.
With Marvel unveiling the new trailer for The Fantastic Four: First Steps, excitement is building—not just for the iconic team’s reboot, but for the bold creative choices reshaping the story. Julia Garner is at the centre of that buzz, whose casting as the Silver Surfer marks a striking and unexpected twist. Even before filming began, it was clear that First Steps would offer a fresh, unconventional take on Marvel’s First Family—and Garner’s mysterious, cosmic role only adds to the intrigue.
How did the Silver Surfer’s character end up being a woman?
While it is yet to be seen how faithful the movie will be to the comics, there is one evident change as the trailer dropped. In the film, which will soon be released in theatres, the Silver Surfer is being introduced as a woman, and it will be portrayed by Garner. It is not the first time the gender of a Marvel character has changed in the MCU, but it is certainly the first time it is this significant.
Technically, Marvel is not gender-swapping the Silver Surfer but introducing a different character into the role. Traditionally, the Silver Surfer is Norrin Radd, a noble figure from the utopian planet Zenn-La who sacrifices himself to save his world from Galactus.
In exchange for sparing Zenn-La—and the life of his beloved, Shalla-Bal—Radd becomes the cosmic entity’s herald, transformed into the iconic silver-skinned figure fans know well. Thus, Garner is not portraying Radd but Shalla-Bal, as reported by IGN.
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What does this mean for the plot in the MCU?
In the new version, which will soon be introduced to fans, it appears that Shalla-Bal is the one who gets involved in the bargain and becomes responsible for bringing the other worlds to her insatiable master to consume, while Radd is left behind to lead Zenn-La. Interestingly, there’s a version of the Marvel multiverse where both Radd and Shalla-Bal take on the role of the Silver Surfer.
In the Earth X storyline, released in 1999, Radd passes part of his cosmic power to Shalla, and together they serve as dual heralds to Galactus. That version of Galactus, in a major twist, is actually a future, god-like evolution of Franklin Richards—the son of Reed Richards and Sue Storm—adding a surprising family connection to the larger cosmic narrative.
