Ralph Ineson’s Best Role Proves He’s Perfect for Galactus in the MCU’s Fantastic Four

At long last, after several years of speculation, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has finally found its Galactus. This week confirmed that next year’s Fantastic Four will see the feared Devourer of Worlds make his debut, played by Ralph Ineson, best known as Chris Finch in the BBC version of The Office, Dagmer Clefjaw in Game of Thrones, and the titular character in The Green Knight. While he likely wasn’t at the top of anyone’s prediction list, Ineson is one of the most underrated actors in the business, and thanks to his booming voice and almost innate skill in playing menacing villains, it seems like an obvious pick in hindsight.

But considering how beloved Galactus is among Marvel fanatics (arguably the most beloved rogue in their gallery, only behind Magneto, Doctor Doom, and maybe Norman Osborn), being good at being bad isn’t enough on its own. Doing the character justice requires a perfect balance of terror, godlike authority, and arguably a bit of pathos, and luckily, Ineson’s best performance in 2016’s masterful The Witch proves he’s more than up to the challenge.

The Witch Is the Performance of Ralph Ineson’s Career

2016’s The Witch, the feature debut of modern fright maestro Robert Eggers, is simply one of the best horror films of the last couple of decades. In telling the story of a Puritan family facing a threat from a mysterious force lurking in their woods, Eggers displays an astonishing grasp of setting and atmosphere. It’s a slow burn, more intent on building dread within its audiences than scaring them outright, and it’s also a thoughtful commentary on the oppression and sexism found within Puritan society.

But what truly makes the film work is its ensemble cast. In her cinematic debut, Anya Taylor-Joy gives a performance that shows why she’s one of our most promising new stars, displaying confidence and maturity that actors twice her age often can’t muster. But it’s arguably Ralph Ineson who steals the movie, giving a tragic dimension to a role that could’ve been a one-note villain in lesser hands.

Ineson plays William, an English settler who takes his wife and children to live in the woods after differences in religious belief get them banished from a Puritan settlement. Strange things start happening as they settle into their new home – the youngest child mysteriously vanishes and is soon found dead, and William’s teenage daughter, Thomasin, begins to believe there’s a witch in the woods. Faced with tragedy, the already devout William plunges even deeper into religious fervor, becoming convinced that one or more of his kids have been possessed by the devil.

In particular, his suspicions of Thomasin grow as her blossoming sexual maturity convinces him that she’s facing constant temptation. William’s ultimate decision to lock his children in the goathouse, coupled with his arrogance in believing that his family can survive outside conventional society, illustrates him as the best kind of tragic villain. As oppressive as his religious beliefs are, he sincerely believes he’s doing what’s best for his children, and he doesn’t realize the doom he’s brought upon his family until it’s too late. Without Ineson’s captivating turn, this tragedy may not have made it to the screen, and he helped make it one of the best religious horror films of all time.

A huge part of what’s always made Galactus such a compelling villain is that his antagonism is rooted more in necessity than genuine malice. Stan Lee and Jack Kirby originally conceived the character as a godlike character in the vein of Zeus, operating outside the boundaries of conventional morality. Originally a mortal named Galan, he existed in the universe that came before the Big Bang, and when his world came to an end, he merged with the cosmic being known as Eternity to survive and become a god.

However, his bid to become immortal came with a price, and the newborn Galactus began devouring entire worlds, not out of desire, but simply to sustain his existence. As a result, Galactus is one of the biggest imaginable threats to the entire Marvel universe, with the power to change the balance of existence with his actions. Nonetheless, as has always been the case with godlike beings, there’s a surprising noble stream within him as well; he goes out of his way to spare planets that prove their worth to him, and his threat comes more from a need to survive than from a desire to inflict havoc on the universe.

It’s hard to imagine many actors better suited to handle this nuanced villainy than Ralph Ineson. His work in The Green Knight, the final Harry Potter films, and arguably The Office prove that he can exert menace and dominance effortlessly. But his performance in The Witch was the one that truly showed what he’s capable of as an actor, and considering William could’ve easily been two-dimensional in lesser hands, it’s proof that he can pull off the complexities to make Galactus work.

Much like Galactus, William’s malice doesn’t come out of a conscious effort to be evil but as a result of putting his self-interest over the needs of others. Ineson’s work in The Witch already displayed an omnipotent quality, with an unwarranted confidence that he and his family could live outside of society and an instinctual need to judge his children when they step outside the boundaries of his belief system. Galactus needs an actor who’s not only capable of being evil but also of seeming like he could easily pass for a god, and Ineson is more than capable of that. And he should prove a perfect counter to Julia Garner’s Silver Surfer.

The Best Possible Galactus Actor

As previously mentioned, Ralph Ineson probably wasn’t the first actor most people thought of when fancasting Galactus, likely because most mainstream audiences haven’t heard of him. But upon reflection, he’s not only a perfect fit for Galactus, he’s maybe the best possible choice for the role, easily able to balance the character’s godlike omnipotence with his almost instinctual malevolence. Ineson has long been waiting for a breakout role to launch him into the mainstream, and if he’s as good as we imagine he will be, it’s easy to think this could be that role. Fantastic Four will release in theaters on July 25, 2025. The Witch is streaming on Max.