New photos from The Fantastic Four: First Steps' 2024 production offered a peak at Silver Surfer actress Julia Garner on set in mo-cap. Marvel Studios shocked fans in April 2024 when it cast actress Garner (who since starred in horror hit Weapons) as its Silver Surfer, abandoning the familiar male Norrin Radd in favor of the alternate female version, Shalla-Bal. As one would expect, the decision to gender swap Silver Surfer for the MCU was controversial, but Garner's Herald of Galactus became an instant fan favorite after The Fantastic Four last year.
The Andy Serkis-founded Imaginarium Studios, who assisted with mo-cap for The Fantastic Four: First Steps, took to Instagram to reveal behind the scenes images of actress Julia Garner doing mo-cap for her digitally-crafted Silver Surfer.
Alongside side-by-side comparisons between The Fantastic Four's final product and its BTS mo-cap filming, the caption offered details on the shoot. Imaginarium stated that Garner focussed on Silver Surfer's recognizable elements of her "silhouette and shape" during filming:
"Silver Surfer is recognisable just by her silhouette and shape, which is exactly what Julia focused on when embodying her character."
Garner also worked to understand the "correct movements and possibilities achievable" with Silver Surfer's iconic cosmic board, which got its best showcase in First Steps as she pursued Marvel's First Family through a wormhole:
"The work put into understanding the correct movements and possibilities achievable while being one with the board, is evident and a reflection of Julia’s amazing skill."
Mo-cap technology allows the crew to capture the real movements and facial expressions of its actors to transform them into 3D digital models.
Director Matt Shakman seemingly had Garner perform on an actual surf board for The Fantastic Four, helping make her movements and positioning realistic.
Most of Garner's scenes in The Fantastic Four were shared with Joseph Quinn's Johnny Storm, aka Human Torch, sharing a largely one-sided flirty romance.
In creating their beautiful face-to-face moment in space as Johnny touched the surfboard, Quinn was dangled from a rig in front of a mo-cap-suited Garner.
Garner wasn't the only mo-cap actor with whom Quinn and other members of The Fantastic Four's cast interacted on set. Actor Ebon Mass-Bachrach also donned the high-tech capture equipment for his role as The Thing.
Marvel Studios is reportedly using mo-cap to its advantage in a unique way in Avengers: Doomsday, helping conceal the identity of two surprise cameos.
Imaginarium highlighted yet another scene shared between Garner and Quinn with the strange catch that it was left on the cutting room floor. At some point in The Fantastic Four, Silver Surfer would have spoken with Johnny Storm in the Baxter Building, with the rest of the team also present in a lesser capacity.
For those eager to see more of Marvel Studios' process of crafting Galactus' Herald, the studio revealed concept art of how different Silver Surfer almost looked in her MCU debut, which is streaming now on Disney+.
What Comes Next For the MCU's Silver Surfer?
There were once reports that a Disney+ Special Presentation starring Silver Surfer was in the works and "must release" before The Fantastic Four: First Steps. Of course, that never came to pass, but perhaps it could have incorporated Shalla-Bal's origins that were incorporated into First Steps as flashbacks.
More recently, scooper Daniel Richtman claimed that Silver Surfer will appear in the MCU's Annihilators crossover film, joining a new cosmic team that may be formed by Chris Pratt's Star-Lord. The report never stated whether Julia Garner's Shalla-Bal will return or if it will finally introduce Norrin Radd.
Marvel Studios is reportedly developing The Fantastic Four 2 already under returning director Matt Shakman following the team's role in Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars. But with Galactus out the way for the time being, it's tough to imagine there being much room for Silver Surfer's comeback.
While Silver Surfer likely won't get to crossover with the wider MCU in Avengers 5 and 6 due to their massive casts, she could further down the line. Marvel's cosmic side is expected to shoulder the MCU's third saga after Secret Wars and the beginning of Phase 7, and Silver Surfer could be an important part of those plans.
