The Fantastic Four Casts Harry Potter Star Ralph Ineson as MCU's Galactus

05/09/2024 06:12 pm EDT

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has finally found its Galactus. On Thursday, reports revealed that Ralph Ineson has been cast as Galactus in Marvel Studios' upcoming The Fantastic Four reboot. Ineson is a prolific actor known for his work as Amycus Carrow in Harry Potter, William in The Witch, and Dagmer Cleftjaw in Game of Thrones. He has actually already appeared in the MCU, portraying an unnamed Ravager in the background of Guardians of the Galaxy. 

Ineson will join a The Fantastic Four cast that is led by Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards / Mister Fantastic, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm / Invisible Woman, Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm / The Thing, and Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm / Human Torch. Julia Garner has been cast as Shalla-Bal / Silver Surfer, with Paul Walter Hauser and John Malkovich cast in currently-unknown roles.

Who Is Marvel's Galactus?

Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in 1966's Fantastic Four #48, Galactus is an otherworldly space being, later revealed to have existed for eons. Merged with the Eternity, Galactus has the ability to drain entire planets of their energy, which is often interpreted as him "eating" a planet. He is often accompanied by a herald — often, an iteration of The Silver Surfer — in his moves across galaxies. 

Galactus infamously made his live-action film debut in 2007's Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, in which he was portrayed as a gigantic sentient cloud.

What Is the New Fantastic Four Movie About?

Plot details have not been revealed for Marvel's The Fantastic Four. The film will be directed by WandaVision's Matt Shakman, who has teased that the way the Fantastic Four script approaches its plot — and the influences of its Marvel Comics source material — appealed to him.

"It's different in so many ways," Shakman explained in a 2023 interview. "I wish I could be specific. I wish I could say more. But we are doing things very differently from a story standpoint, from an approach to the filmmaking standpoint, that really fits the material. I wish I could say more. I would love to, but I can't. But I think it's going to be unlike anything you've seen before, and certainly unlike anything at Marvel that you've seen before."

"We have been nonstop," Shakman said of the pre-production work on the film. "Despite the strikes, yes, we've been working with the effects and with production design and building our world, and that's been incredibly exciting. You know, how do you translate those skills into live-action in dynamic ways? Because some things that work beautifully in John Byrne and Jack Kirby are a little tougher when you're filming them. How do you make sure that things are exciting but also grounded in a scientific thing, which is also part of the Fantastic Four that I love? There's some stuff I'm super excited about. I can't say too much, you know?"

The Fantastic Four is currently scheduled to be released exclusively in theaters on July 25, 2025.

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