Back in 2018, before the release of Avengers: Infinity War , a rumored surfaced from a Metacritic casting list that actor Curt Clendenin would portray the Silver Surfer. This would have been the first time seeing the Silver Surfer on-screen since 2007's Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer . Of course, he never appeared in Infinity War , and the rumor was long forgotten.
With the Disney and Fox merger, Marvel Studios plans to bring in Marvel's first family with a Fantastic Four film directed by Jon Watts . In 2018, it seemed inconceivable that the Silver Surfer would appear in the MCU, but now, the possibility is very real.
Years after Infinity War was filmed, Clendenin has added more context to his rumored appearance as the Silver Surfer.
SILVER SURFER IN THE MCU?
Curt Clendenin recently spoke with ComicBookMovie.com and revealed that he was on set during Avengers: Infinity War, saying "There's a lot of stuff that's not shown."
He also alluded to himself recurring whatever role he played, saying, "...we've heard of all these new Marvel shows that are coming out, and we've heard about, let's say, certain side projects that directors may or may not have been rumored to work on:"
"Yeah. Geez. I... I'm not really allowed to say too much about what any of it's... You know, there's a lot. I don't know if you've seen, like the... the Russo brothers are good at... how do I put it? They're good at leaving Easter Eggs too, and they like to have fun with things, you know? (Laughs) I'm just not; I can't... I can't really say. It's like, you know how George Lucas treats his sets? You go into an audition for a movie called Blue Mountain. And it turns out, he's like, 'no, surprise, it's Star Wars.' So, I have to leave some secrecy. I don't know how else to explain it, but time, ideally, will tell. There's a lot of stuff that's not shown, and we've heard of all these new Marvel shows that are coming out, and we've heard about, let's say, certain side projects that directors may or may not have been rumored to work on."
Clendenin mentioned that "you never know what kind of interesting nuggets may come to the surface" and the possibility of what he filmed surfacing on the internet eventually isn't a longshot:
"You never know what kind of interesting nuggets may come to the surface. We always hear about how pilots for certain TV shows were shot and stuff, and they never saw the light of day. And then years later, someone ends up uploading something to a YouTube channel or Daily Motion or something like that. That's not as tough on copyright things, you know? So there are those sites out there where stuff finds its way peeking through. So, we'll see what kind of fun things evolve throughout the future."
SURFING ON OVER TO DISNEY+
The Fantastic Four feels like the obvious place for the Silver Surfer to first appear, but Clendenin's comments allude more to television. At this point, it is unclear what character he even portrayed, but he definitely didn't deny the possibility of being the Silver Surfer.
Clendenin said he and his team have heard about Marvel shows and specifically "certain side projects that directors may or may not have been rumored to work on." Right now, it is incredibly unclear what he could be referring to, but there are plenty of Disney+ "side projects" in the works.
If the Silver Surfer does first appear on Disney+, Secret Invasion seems like an obvious place for this to happen. This is one of the few MCU Disney+ series that will probably partially take place in space. If he does appear, this would be a major development for the MCU as Silver Surfer seeks out planets for Galactus to consume. Where there is smoke, there's fire, and when the Silver Surfer appears, Galactus' introduction will be imminent.
Even though Clendenin's comments don't confirm his role, this does reopen the possibility of the Sky-Rider of the Spaceways being introduced in the MCU. If he was the Silver Surfer in Infinity War , why did they cut it? It could have just not been the right time; so much was happening in the Russo Brother's Avengers films, and this pivotal introduction may have felt forced.
Clendenin's evasive response has reignited the Silver Surfer rumors, giving fans a reason to expect his arrival sometime in the future.
