Fantastic Four: First Steps Director Teases the MCU’s Galactus

The Fantastic Four: First Steps director Matt Shakman is opening up about the film’s central villain, Galactus, and it sounds like he won’t be making the same mistake as past film adaptations. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, Galactus debuted in Fantastic Four #48 in 1966 and is one of the most iconic characters in all of Marvel Comics. While he is a large cosmic threat that would likely draw in the entire Marvel Universe, he has primarily been associated with the Fantastic Four and has been chosen as the primary threat for the team’s first MCU film, with Ralph Ineson stepping into the giant purple shoes.

Fans got their first tease of Galactus in the Hall H footage for The Fantastic Four: First Steps at San Diego Comic-Con. Speaking with Comicbook after the event, director Matt Shakman teased that Galactus will certainly be big, as the Comic-Con footage showcased Galactus looking through a skyscraper. The director talked about his love for the character and how he is going all in on bringing to life the classic version of Galactus fans know from the comics. “I love Galactus,” said Shakman. “You know, when you’ve got Galactus, you gotta go big or go home, as you can see.”

Galactus was previously featured in 2007’s Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. That movie made the controversial decision not to adapt Galactus’ classic giant humanoid figure with a purple pointed helmet and instead made him a cosmic cloud. Conflicting statements have emerged about why the filmmakers opted not to feature Galactus, with the most oft-cited reason being that the studio thought the design for Galactus would be far too silly for general audiences. That certainly seems hard to believe now, but that film was released one year before Iron Man and four years before films like Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger would push concepts that filmmakers would have feared putting in superhero movies before.

Where Galactus goes, his heart follows, and Fantastic Four: First Steps is also bringing fans a reimagined version of the Silver Surfer. Marvel Studios has cast Julia Garner, who is not playing the traditional Norin Radd but instead his main romantic interest, Shalla-Bal. Marvel Studios is excited to market a more comic-accurate version of Galactus, as their drone show at San Diego Comic-Con featured the Galactus head, and four of the five comics that Marvel Studios recommend fans read to prepare for the movie are centered on Galactus. When Fantastic Four: First Steps finally hits theaters, it will have been 18 years since the release of Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, and audiences will get to see a Galactus that captures the scope of his comic book counterpart.