Despite having chances of once again flourishing in the industry like before, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is seemingly taking the hard way by making brutal changes to its characters and transforming the franchise into what fans’ have been terming as “M-She-U” lately.
While this change is clearly not sitting well with fans — especially those who have been attached to the onscreen projects and comics alike right from the start — the upcoming Fantastic Four reboot film has reportedly been caught up in this fire as well.
According to the insights shared by industry insiders Jeff Sneider and John Rocha on their podcast The Hot Mic in November last year, Marvel is seemingly gender-swapping the Silver Surfer; the very character who has only appeared once onscreen in 2007’s Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer.
Even though this concept is more than just contradictory to the source material, Marvel doesn’t seem to want to go back on its decision. Thus, to analyze who could possibly take on the role, here are the top 5 actresses who could be the perfect choice.
Top 5 Actresses Who Could Play The Silver Surfer In The Fantastic Four Reboot
Now that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has reportedly already decided to gender-swap the Silver Surfer in the Fantastic Four reboot, exploring all the options who could be best suited to this role wouldn’t be a bad option. For that specific purpose, we have compiled a list of five actresses who could best fit the character. Dig in!
1. Anya Taylor-Joy
Anya Taylor-Joy has already been in many talks with the Marvel Cinematic Universe of reportedly being eyed for a villain-ish role ever since news broke out in November last year that Marvel was gender-swapping the Silver Surfer for the Fantastic Four remake.
As reported by industry insider Daniel Richtman, the Golden Globe-winning actress, who has notably previously embodied roles like that of Magik in the critically panned The New Mutants from Fox’s X-Men franchise, was being considered to play an unknown villain.
While nothing has been confirmed yet, Taylor-Joy might as well surprise Fantastic Four fans later on if she does get cast in the role of the Cosmic Wanderer just like how she recently confirmed her casting in Dune: Part Two by surprisingly appearing at the film’s premieres.
2. Gal Gadot
We know what most of you are thinking: Not Gal Gadot! She has already played Wonder Woman in the DCEU; the very role that has pretty much made fans unable to even imagine her in any other character. And yes, we do agree with your thinking too.
However, at the same time, it is also worth noting that the DCEU has come to an end now, and James Gunn isn’t one to go back on his word with his casting choices for the DC reboot. This is why Gadot might as well be essentially waiting to be scooped up for the Fantastic Four remake casting after the DCEU debacle, and the MCU just might take the bait.
3. Jessica Chastain
This isn’t the first time that Jessica Chastain has been expected to be a contender and has been a contender to bring characters from the Marvel Cinematic Universe to life. Previously, she was offered the characters of Maya Hansen in Iron Man 3 and Christine Palmer in Doctor Strange.
However, even after getting the chance, Chastain gave up both offers: The first one due to scheduling conflicts, and the second one because she didn’t want to make her MCU debut as some character’s love interest, but rather as a “badass” superhero, as screenwriter C. Robert Scargill shared with the Junkfood Cinema podcast.
Judging from this claim, it is rather quite evident that Jessica Chastain wants to be a part of the franchise, and very much so. Thus, debuting as a “badass” Silver Surfer in the Fantastic Four reboot could be a pretty good option for her — if Marvel considers her for the role.
4. Emily Blunt
Just like Jessica Chastain, Emily Blunt was a contender for one rather famous superheroine in the Marvel Cinematic Universe: The Black Widow. However, because she was already bound by a contract with Gulliver’s Travels, she had to face the “heartbreak” of turning down the role, as she shared on The Howard Stern Show.
Judging from how much she wanted to join the superhero league, Marvel just may consider her once again for another potential role, even if it’s of the Silver Surfer. Plus, Blunt was already a fan-favorite for the role of Sue Storm alongside John Krasinski’s Reed Richards. This is why playing the Silver Surfer in the Fantastic Four remake doesn’t seem like a far throw for her either.
5. Olivia Wilde
Olivia Wilde is yet another name on the list of all the celebrities who gave up the offers to embody a character from the Marvel Cinematic Universe: She was offered the role of Gamora, but she passed on it because she didn’t want to be cast in “hard-faced roles” anymore, as she shared with The Guardian. Moreover, her career as a director is also taking off quite nicely, so that adds to another reason why she wouldn’t play the Silver Surfer if offered the role.
However, at the same time, she could be one of the most efficient choices if she does get to play the character because of the rest of the reportedly high-profile cast of Fantastic Four, which includes Javier Bardem allegedly being the top pick for Galactus (as per Jeff Sneider) and Mads Mikkelsen and Cillian Murphy notably being considered to play Doctor Doom (via John Campea), while Pedro Pascal continues to remain under massive speculation to play Reed Richards.
Honorable Mention: Lindsay Lohan
Even though Lindsay Lohan has led what can be considered a fairly successful career through her mostly rom-com roles, that doesn’t mean she wishes to stay in that lane. Last year, during an interview with Forbes, Lohan expressed her heartiest desire to get to bag a role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. She said:
“I’ve never done an action film. I would love to do something with Marvel – just seeing what comes my way and I’m open to different roles.”
Considering how she is more than willing to join the universe and is open to playing whatever role comes her way, Lindsay Lohan would very well be one of the finest choices to cast as the Silver Surfer in the upcoming Fantastic Four film.
But at the end of the day, the final reigns still rest in Marvel Studios’ hands, and fans will have to wait until official announcements from the Marvel Cinematic Universe to know for sure who scores the gender-swapped role for the reboot superhero movie.
