The Fantastic Four is Marvel's First Family for a reason. They're the first superteam at the House of Ideas that proved profitable and immediately popular. It's the stuff of legend, but expectations were initially low. A frustrated Stan Lee was against a wall and finally encouraged by his wife to make a comic the way he wanted. The result was a classically messy and imperfect family dynamic that challenged readers and became the standard for the Marvel Way and, eventually, every other subsequent method.
Their origins are space-age, no question, but they always straddled the line between cosmic and earthbound, with enough room to explore what is beneath the firmament through villains like The Mole Man. Arguably, it wasn't until The Silver Surfer hung ten across the solar system that the FF became firmly established among the stars in the greater Marvel Universe. Once Chromedome brought Galactus to Earth, nothing was ever the same.
By himself, Surfer has enough drama and material for his own movie or Disney+ series. However, Hollywood has had a difficult time translating him to the screen. Outside animation, the first attempt was in 2007 with Rise of the Silver Surfer, where the character was portrayed physically by the accomplished man-under-makeup, Hellboy actor Doug Jones. While the film left a lot to be desired, especially in terms of box office receipts and a faithful design of Galactus, Jones reflects fondly on the experience.
Speaking with ComicBookMovie, the actor described playing the Surfer as "[such] an honor. Are you kidding me?" He relished the opportunity "to take on a Marvel character that was so beloved and so beautiful and so angelic-like." Jones's portrayal drew closer to the comics - except for the idea that his board is the source of his power, but that's neither here nor there, which has won him praise over the years.
However, when it came time for the character to catch a cosmic wave again last year in Fantastic Four: First Steps, a creative departure was enacted in the casting of Julia Garner as the original herald Norrin Radd's love, Shalla-Bal, who took on the burden of saving her planet and keeping Galactus well-fed this time.
While there was criticism for the decision to change up the Surfer for the cinematic multiverse, some of it vocal, Jones isn't among that chorus. In fact, he was impressed by Garner's work in the part, which he called "gorgeous" and "interesting." He also gave her props for accepting the gig when there was a strong possibility of backlash. "So I thought it was brave of her to step into that, knowing that fans were going to be like, 'Wait a second.' But she was great and did it with great poise and great courage," Jones said.
Garner has an Emmy under her belt for her work on Ozark, and she is a rising star comfortable working across multiple genres. At a glance, her casting made perfect sense for where First Steps went, which doesn't preclude the arrival of Radd in the MCU. Since the film took place on Earth-828 (a tribute to Jack Kirby), he is certainly gliding through the galaxy somewhere in 616. That opens the door for Shalla-Bal, but also, unfortunately for our planet, Galactus.