Director Matt Shakman’s Fantastic Four movie adds John Malkovich and Ralph Ineson to its ensemble cast, with Ineson set to play Galactus.
Marvel Studios has announced two more names for its upcoming production of Fantastic Four.
The big news first: Ralph Ineson has joined the cast, and will play none other than Galactus – the mighty eater of worlds who has long been one of the Fantastic Four’s most implacable foes. Galactus did appear in 2007’s Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver Surfer but oddly, that film featured him as an angry cloud rather than the towering humanoid form he possesses in the comic books.
We’re guessing that Marvel and Shakman are going to do a ‘proper Galactus’. Although Marvel hasn’t officially confirmed the casting yet (The Hollywood Reporter first broke the news), the thought of Ineson playing the destroyer of worlds is an intriguing one.
As with Thanos, that previous iconic Marvel big bad, voice is especially important with a CGI character, and like Josh Brolin (who memorably played Thanos), Ineson has one of the most distinct and articulate voices out there.
Podcast | Fantastic Four (2015) and The Fantastic Four (1994, unreleased)
Meanwhile, Deadline reports that John Malkovich has been cast in an unspecified role – and simply put, that’s all we know about that. We could speculate (Mole Man?) but we’d be fumbling around in the dark, so we’ll leave it there.
Matt Shakman is directing – he’s the mind behind WandaVision, arguably Marvel Studios’ finest small screen effort so far. The core cast looks really fun with Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards/Mr Fantastic, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm/Invisible Woman, Stranger Things’ Joseph Quinn as John Storm/Human Torch and The Bear's Ebon Moss-Bachrach Ben Grimm/The Thing.
On paper, that’s a strong line-up, and it’s also being complimented by the undoubted talents of Julia Garner as the Silver Surfer and Paul Walter Hauser in an unspecified role. The casting blueprint that Shakman and his collaborators have designed here looks clear, allowing each actor to do the thing that they do especially well as part of a wider ensemble, whether its Moss Bachrach’s talent for portraying unbridled rage or Garner’s excellence at depicting scowling, silent intensity.
It’s more interesting news then on the Fantastic Four front, then. The film is said to be set in a 1960s setting and will shoot this summer ahead of a release on the 25th July 2025. We’ll bring you more on this one as we hear it.
