After the big casting reveal of the four main protagonists in The Fantastic Four, fans next await the announcement of the villain actor, with Javier Bardem’s name thrown around recently. Interestingly, Bardem is eyed for the role of Galactus, who will be the central villain in the film, instead of Doctor Doom. However, there’s another actor whom Marvel has previously worked with and who would make the perfect cosmic villain in The Fantastic Four — Mads Mikkelsen.
While Javier Bardem will make for a terrifying villain as he did in No Country for Old Men, Galactus is more of an antagonist than an outright villain, a fitting role for an actor like Mikkelsen. While Galactus is the Devourer of Worlds, he also provides the needed balance against Celestials in the universe.
Not Javier Bardem, Mads Mikkelsen Will Be A Better Choice For Galactus
The main cast of The Fantastic Four — Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm, Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm — was announced on February 14 by Marvel Studios. With the casting of the main four out of the way, fans now look forward to the other casting in the film, particularly the main villain of the film.
According to The InSneider newsletter from insider Jeff Sneider, the highly-anticipated character Doctor Doom will not be the main villain in the film. Sneider shared that the cosmic villain Galactus will be the primary villain in the Pedro Pascal-led film, with Doctor Doom featuring only in a brief cameo at the end. Sneider also revealed that Javier Bardem is the top choice for the studio to play the Devourer of Worlds.
However, many believe that Mads Mikkelsen, who has played several versatile characters, would carry the cosmic villain with the necessary nuances. Galactus consumes worlds to retain his life force and is not a villain with an evil plan. Mikkelsen has earlier played several villain characters including one Marvel villain, Kaecilius, in Doctor Strange. Not every villain of his had an evil plan, but his characters generally stood for a cause for which they selflessly worked.
Galactus was once an ordinary being called Galan but his planet Taa was almost wiped out by a plague. On a suicide mission, Galan along with his planet plunges into a star, however, the radiation of the star provides him with Celestial-level powers. He manipulates energy, time, and space, and serves as a needed balance against the Celestials. As fans got to see in Eternals, the Celestials also did not have the best interest of human life in their plans.
Mads Mikkelsen’s sheer experience in playing complicated negative characters makes him all the more fitting to play Galactus than Javier Bardem. However, it is in no way a questioning of Javier Bardem’s acting prowess. Both have played villains in Daniel Craig‘s James Bond films and it is still arguable who played it better.
Galactus And Doctor Doom Will Shape The Events Of Avengers: Secret Wars
Marvel Studios is still in the works for the scripts of Avengers 5 and Avengers: Secret Wars. Jonathan Majors‘ firing served as a major blow to the studio’s definitive plans for the Multiverse Saga finale. While the studio considers several options including recasting Kang in the next Avengers film, the introduction of Galactus and Doctor Doom in The Fantastic Four opens several possibilities.
In his scoop, Sneider revealed that Doctor Doom will appear only in the final moments of the film. However, these scenes will set up the character for a more substantial role in the upcoming film, Avengers: Secret Wars. If Sneider’s suggestions turn out to be true, many believe it will not be just Doom who appears in Secret Wars. Galactus, in Marvel Comics, appears as both antagonist and protagonist in several storylines, making him more than a one-off villain.
The MCU should not treat Galactus, be it Mads Mikkelsen or Javier Bardem, as ‘just another villain’ in The Fantastic Four, which is scheduled to be released in theaters on July 25, 2025.
