The MCU's new female Silver Surfer was highlighted in photos from the set of 2025's The Fantastic Four: First Steps, but in her human form. This will be the first live-action iteration of the female version of the Silver Surfer (known as Shalla-Bal), who will help usher in a new era of storytelling for the Fantastic Four under Marvel Studios' watch.
Set photos from 2025's The Fantastic Four: First Steps showed Julia Garner's Silver Surfer in her human form without her CGI-based silver skin. This marks the first time Garner has been seen in her natural state on set, which came during a round of reshoots for The Fantastic Four ahead of its July 25 theatrical release date.
Shared by Daily Mail, Garner is seen standing on a rock near the ocean as additional filming took place in Los Angeles, California, on May 7, 2025. She is wearing a white dress with a light blue pattern on the top, and her blonde hair is pulled back tightly behind her head.
Reports did not indicate what specifically was being filmed for The Fantastic Four. However, these reshoots have likely been planned for some time as every almost Marvel Studios movie has held reshoots shortly before being released in theaters.
Garner will take on a new version of the Silver Surfer named Shalla-Bal, who was first introduced in Marvel Comics in 1968's The Silver Surfer #1. The character is known as the Herald of Galactus, which will remain the case in The Fantastic Four after a trailer showed her warning the team that "[their] planet has been marked for death."
Garner will join a star-studded cast of actors in Marvel Studios' The Fantastic Four: First Steps, which will be the MCU's next movie and the first in Phase 6. Starring Pedro Pascal (Reed Richards), Vanessa Kirby (Sue Storm), Joseph Quinn (Johnny Storm), and Ebon Moss-Bachrach (Ben Grimm), this film will show the team a few years after they first formed as they hope to protect their world from destruction.
The New Silver Surfer's Story in The Fantastic Four: First Steps
While the Silver Surfer's future in the MCU is still unclear, this movie is expected to show her as one of the most powerful beings in the Multiverse as she brings Galactus into play. Even with Galactus being introduced the destroyer of worlds, the film's trailers have shown Garner's character to be capable of plenty of damage.
Already, she can be seen throwing Johnny Storm back to Earth like he's nothing, proving not only her strength but her resilience when it comes to her mission. Other shots show her rising from some kind of molten lava before fans see her putting her surfboard to use, soaring through the sky.
Moving forward, questions are being asked about how long her MCU tenure will last, particularly with the hope that she and Galactus are more than one-time villains.
The Four are confirmed to move on to Avengers: Doomsday after this movie, which will be headlined by Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom as the antagonist. While there may not be room in that story for the Silver Surfer and Galactus, they may remain stuck in the team's home universe until Doom's reign comes to a halt in the next two Avengers blockbusters.
