Marvel Studios’ The Fantastic Four has finally found its Galactus. Today, The Hollywood Reporter broke the news that Ralph Ineson will play the planet-eating cosmic villain, Galactus. Some of Ineson’s roles include Amycus Carrow in the final three Harry Potter movies, Dagmer Cleftjaw in HBO’s Game of Thrones (2012), and William in The Witch (2015).
The 54-year-old British actor will be joining Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards / Mister Fantastic, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm / Invisible Woman, Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm / Human Torch, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm / The Thing, as well as Julia Garner as Shalla-Bal / Silver Surfer, with John Malkovich and Paul Walter Hauser cast in currently-unknown roles.
Who is Galactus?
The Stan Lee and Jack Kirby-created Marvel character originally debuted in March 1966’s Fantastic Four #48. He is described as a cosmic entity, later revealed to have existed for eons. Merged with the Eternity, the supervillain has the power to consume planets to sustain his life force. The character is frequently accompanied by a herald (such as an iteration of the Silver Surfer) as he moves across galaxies.
Galactus has appeared as both antagonist and protagonist in central and supporting roles. He was last seen on the big screen (depicted as a gigantic sentient cloud) in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007) —but we can hope that the new MCU film will feature a much more satisfying version of the villain.
What is Marvel Studios’ The Fantastic Four about?
Set in the 1960s, the new The Fantastic Four movie will feature a team of four superheroes, who are known to gain superpowers after exposure to cosmic rays during a scientific mission in outer space. Plot details haven’t been revealed yet. The movie will be directed by Matt Shakman (WandaVision), who teased how different the plot of The Fantastic Four will be.
“It’s different in so many ways,” Shakman said in a 2023 interview with Collider. “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.”
