Ozark star Julia Garner has been cast as Shalla-Bal, a version of the Silver Surfer, in Marvel’s The Fantastic Four.
The Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actress will star alongside Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards (aka Mr. Fantastic), Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm (aka the Invisible Woman), Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm (aka the Human Torch) and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm (aka the Thing).
Matt Shakman, who helmed the Marvel series WandaVision for Disney+ and Monarch: Legacy Of Monsters for Apple TV+, is set to direct the upcoming Fantastic Four film.
The Silver Surfer was previously portrayed by Doug Jones and voiced by Laurence Fishburne in 2007’s Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer.
Speaking on how The Fantastic Four will differ from previous Marvel films, Shakman said in October: “It’s different in so many ways. 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.”
He continued: “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.”
Pedro Pascal’s involvement in the film was first teased in November after reports from Deadline Hollywood suggested that the Game Of Thrones and The Last Of Us actor was in talks for the role of Reed Richards.
Garner starred as Ruth Langmore on Ozark alongside Jason Bateman and Laura Linney, earning three Emmys and a Golden Globe for her work on the series. Her other television credits include The Americans, Dirty John and Inventing Anna, for which she earned additional Emmy and Golden Globe nominations.
In film, Garner earned an Independent Spirit Award nomination for her role in Kitty Green’s The Assistant. Last year, the pair teamed up again for The Royal Hotel.
The actress is next set to star in Leigh Whannell’s Wolf Man opposite Christopher Abbott, and in the psychological thriller Apartment 7A from producer John Krasinski.
