Julia Garner addresses fan backlash to ‘gender-swapped' Fantastic Four casting
Last April, the 31-year-old Emmy-winning Ozark star joined the cast of Marvel Studios' new film, The Fantastic Four: First Steps.
At first, it was believed that she would be taking on the role of a female version of the iconic Silver Surfer character who appeared in earlier comics.
However, it was later confirmed that Garner will, in fact, be starring as Shalla-Bal, the immortal Empress of Zenn-La and lover of the Silver Surfer/Norrin Radd.
Speaking to the BBC on Friday at the UK launch of the reboot, the Inventing Anna actor was asked about her reaction to the criticism she first received when it was assumed she was taking on a 'gender-swapped' Silver Surfer.
'I'm just going to still do my job,' she remembered thinking, 'and also it's Shalla-Bal so it's different.'
Fan negativity didn't last long, however, as the first trailer, released in February, was widely well-received.
'I was just happy that people are resonating with it and just like any other project,' Garner added of the secondary praise. 'So I'm grateful to be at this dance, to be completely honest with you.'
Garner previously spoke about her confusion when she was first approached for the role.
'I was confused because I was like, 'Wait, isn't the Silver Surfer a man?' I was just like, 'Okay, well, I'll play anything,'' she told Entertainment Weekly in April. 'Then [director Matt Shakman] was explaining to me that it's actually Shalla-Bal and that whole thing.'
Shalla-Bal was originally introduced in Marvel Comics' The Silver Surfer #1 in August 1968. She has never appeared in a live-action movie until now.
'I knew who the Silver Surfer was, and I got to know the Silver Surfer more when I signed on to the project. I really dived in,' she added. 'I read a lot of the Fantastic Four and Silver Surfer comics before starting the project, and I knew that this Fantastic Four was going to be told in a very different way than even the other movies.'
The Fantastic Four: First Steps stars Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic, The Bear's Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm/The Thing, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm/The Invisible Woman, and Joseph Quinn (Stranger Things) as Johnny Storm/The Human Torch.
Out in theaters July 25, the movie arrives 20 years after the 2005 adaptation, which featured Ioan Gruffudd, Michael Chiklis, Jessica Alba, and Chris Evans as the leading quartet.
It will represent the first time all four characters will join the interlinking Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).
Disney's Marvel Studios acquired the rights to The Fantastic Four back in 2019 when the company merged with Fox.
The original Fantastic Four comic books follow a group of scientists who develop superhero qualities after they are exposed to a mysterious cosmic storm.
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