Disney Actually Went There: Fans Irate, Stan Lee’s Most Popular Cosmic Hero Turned Female For Upcoming Film

April 4, 2024 Mark Wolf US 0

Hardcore Marvel fans have been waiting for quite some time to see a new cinematic version of the Silver Surfer. The character is considered by many Marvel fanatics the quintessential cosmic (i.e. space-faring) Marvel hero.

As such, the character has remained highly popular ever since his 1966 debut in Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s “Fantastic Four” comic. So, when rumors began circulating that Disney’s upcoming 2025 “Fantastic Four” movie would feature the character, the hype began to build.

To the shock of many, on Wednesday, it was revealed that the film would be making a not-so-slight adjustment to the character — he will be portrayed as a woman.

According to Deadline, actress Julia Garner of “Ozark” and “Inventing Anna” will be portraying a female version of the hero.

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In the comic books, the Silver Surfer’s alter ego is Norrin Radd, a humanoid alien from the utopian planet of Zenn-La. One day, when the planet-devouring creature Galactus shows up, Radd is faced with a choice.

Was this casting decision a mistake?

He could either watch Zenn-La and his beloved — a woman named Shalla-Bal — die, or he could make a deal with Galactus. Radd chose the latter option, becoming the “herald” of Galactus with the purpose of finding the creature new planets to devour in exchange for the safety of Zenn-La and Shalla-Bal.

It’s then that Radd is embued with Galactus’s “Power Cosmic,” which gives him his powers and silver appearance.

After appearing as an antagonist in “Fantastic Four,” Lee later brought Silver Surfer to star in the character’s very own title.

In those early Stan Lee-penned Silver Surfer runs, the character, as an alien examining humanity from an outside perspective, became an outlet for Lee to write more philosophical stories. As time went on, Silver Surfer continued to gain popularity.




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According to Deadline, Garner will be playing a “Shalla-Bal” version of the Silver Surfer.

Though there were a few issues featuring an alternate universe version of Shalla-Bal with Silver Surfer powers, the character is depicted as the male Norrin Radd in the overwhelming majority of his appearances.

The Shalla-Bal chatter adds some credence to the theory that the upcoming “Fantastic Four” movie will be set in some sort of alternate timeline. Either way, it’s a lazy way to inject some “girl power” into the film, especially compared to the possibility of simply writing a strong version of Sue Storm.

The announcement came just after Disney held its annual shareholders meeting.

The meeting came on the back of a drawn-out proxy battle that saw investors concerned with Disney’s politicized direction move to gain a foothold on the company’s board. Those investors were unsuccessful.

During the meeting, Disney CEO Bob Iger stressed that the company’s goal would be “not to advance any kind of agenda” going forward, per The Hollywood Reporter.

Many Marvel fans view the Silver Surfer casting decision as agenda-driven. Many such voices were quick to take those opinions to social media following the casting news.

“It’s back to business as usual for Disney. Female Silver Surfer confirmed. They learned nothing. They have no incentive to change,” one X user wrote.

“M She U is here to stay, after multiple failures. Get ready for the Wikipedia fans that point out the Lady Silver Surfer,” YouTuber YellowFlash posted.

“Love all the female Silver Surfer fans that are popping up out of nowhere using the one image on her wiki,” another user wrote. “Nobody tell them the character only appeared in 4 comics. They might strain something.”

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