29 July 2025, 15:01
Picture:
Alamy
By Katie Louise Smith
First things first, Julia isn’t playing the Silver Surfer… she’s playing a completely different character.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps is currently taking the box office by storm (pun intended) and alongside the leading actors, Julia Garner is getting rave reviews from fans and critics alike for her performance as the film’s silver antagonist, Shalla-Bal.
However, prior to the reveal of her character’s true identity, the actress faced a barrage of backlash when fans assumed that the Silver Surfer had been ‘gender swapped’ to a female version of the iconic character.
When it was revealed she was actually not playing the Silver Surfer and that it was a completely different character altogether, people soon changed their tune. Julia has now responded to the backlash.
Picture:
Alamy
Julia Garner actually plays Shalla-Bal in The Fantastic Four: First Steps – not the Silver Surfer, who appeared in the 2005 and 2015 versions of the comic book film. Shalla-Bal is the lover of Norrin Radd (the Silver Surfer) but she has never appeared in a live-action movie until now.
Addressing the backlash in an interview with Extra TV, Julia was asked how she felt about the “small but vocal” group of people who complained about her character despite not knowing the facts.
“Well, I always wanna hear and I respect everybody’s opinion in a way so I’m always interested,” she said. “But I also know what is true to the story, which is Shalla-Bal is different that the Silver Surfer they’re used to.”
“When this first came about, I kind of had the same question too and once I did my research I realised that it’s different. So hopefully it resonated with people, and you can’t control the audience.”
Picture:
Alamy
Julia had audiences living for Shalla-Bal as soon as the trailer dropped and she quickly went viral for her delivery of the “I herald his beginning, I herald your end, I herald Galactus” line.
Now that the film is out in cinemas, fans are raving about her performance. On Reddit, one fan wrote: “Julia Garner did one hell of a performance.”
“Julia Garner’s Silver Surfer was a highlight,” another added while another praised: “Julia Garner is so badass as Silver Surfer. Her chase scene with the F4 is one of the greatest action scenes in any CBM. She’s an unstoppable force that keeps you on edge the whole time. Can’t wait to see more of her.”
“Everyone say ‘thank you julia garner’ for giving us THE silver surfer performance,” another added.
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