How ‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ Brought Galactus and the Silver Surfer to Life

All hail the Devourer of Worlds and his Herald.

Marvel Studios’ The Fantastic Four: First Steps pits Marvel’s First Family against two formidable foes: Galactus (Ralph Ineson) and the Silver Surfer (Julia Garner). Ineson makes his Marvel debut as the towering space god Galactus, an ancient cosmic entity known for his huge stature, his signature purple helmet, and his penchant for gobbling up entire planets. Driven by bottomless hunger, he travels the universe in search of new worlds to consume, accompanied by his herald, the Silver Surfer, aka Shalla-Bal. Julia Garner plays the steely wanderer, who loyally serves her master but may be hiding secrets of her own. Their quest puts them on a collision course with Earth, where the Fantastic Four try to protect their home planet from these otherworldly visitors.  

Before The Fantastic Four: First Steps hits theaters July 25, Marvel.com caught up with Ineson and Garner for a peek into their interstellar partnership.

MARVEL.COM: Ralph, how did you react the first time you saw yourself as Galactus?

RALPH INESON: To see myself in the costume was amazing. It is a complete work of art, and [I loved] seeing the way they’ve shot that costume to make him see a thousand feet tall. The first time I saw it was when I was doing ADR, replacing a dialogue line. The way it works is a line goes across the screen, and when it hits the end of the screen, that’s your key to start the line. I’m watching it, and the camera’s drifting over this huge Death Star-type landscape, and I’m thinking, “When does he appear? How can it be my line?” Then [I realized], “Oh, that’s my shoulder.” The scale of it was breathtaking to see.

MARVEL.COM: Did you have a favorite detail on your costume?

RALPH INESON: The gauntlet and the hands were just so amazingly articulated. Every single joint of the fingers could work. I could spin a ball with the fingers. Everything worked so amazingly, so it was easy to do my job, even with this ridiculously huge costume.

I mean, it was hot. They shot me like a miniature, so [the crew used] lots of bright, white light, so they could blow the image up and keep it in focus. That bright, white light means very hot conditions. So, it was tough to not sweat and keep my body temperature down — but the results are incredible.

MARVEL.COM: Julia, the Silver Surfer is incredibly athletic and graceful on her board. What kind of training did you do to prepare?

JULIA GARNER: All of it was motion-capture, so it wasn’t practical. I look a lot more fit in this [film] than in real life. [Laughs]. But before I went to London [to film], I took some surf lessons to be familiar with the board and move like a surfer. Then, we had a surf instructor on set that showed me different moves. It was like trying to put together dance and surf at the same time, in a way.

MARVEL.COM: What was the most valuable tip you learned from the surf instructor?

JULIA GARNER: Depending on what the move is, it’s knowing where to put my weight, whether it’s in the front or in the back. I made sure that I did a lot of yoga at that time, just because of balance. You don’t want to lose your balance, especially when you’re on a surfboard! That’s never a good thing.

MARVEL.COM: Galactus is enormous, but he’s also got a voice to match. Ralph, how did you want to find the right vocal tone for him?

RALPH INESON: We just wanted it to be as huge as possible — not necessarily deep. It did end up being deeper than my normal speaking voice, but it was about trying to imagine this kind of huge, industrial machine, with bellows pumping air up from my belly across my vocal cords. I wanted to make the sound come more from a growly breath, than actually making the sounds in my mouth. It takes a lot of air to speak like Galactus in that way. [Laughs] So, it took a lot of timing and working out how I was going to be able to do the longer lines, keeping the vibration going through the whole line. But it was fun. It really helped me find the character when I found the voice.

MARVEL.COM: What about you, Julia? What helped you understand Shalla-Bal as a character?

JULIA GARNER: A few different things. What helped me find the voice was I was listening to a lot of T.S. Eliot poems — his own poetry that he was reading out loud. His delivery I found quite interesting, and it felt somewhat right for this.

And then also her human emotions, her feelings. She’s processing it and then blocking it in a way. She’s trying to block, but there’s only so much blocking you can do.

MARVEL.COM: I know director Matt Shakman wanted to embrace practical sets and gorgeous details. Did you have a favorite detail on set?

JULIA GARNER: The Times Square set was amazing. That was really special. And the car. I love the car.

RALPH INESON: I’ve fallen in love with Johnny Storm’s headphones. I never saw them in the flesh on set, but in the movie, they’re just the most beautifully designed thing. I really want them. I keep mentioning them in interviews, so hopefully somebody will provide me with Johnny Storm headphones! [Laughs]

Marvel Studios’ The Fantastic Four: First Steps opens in theaters July 25.