In “The Fantastic Four: First Steps,” Marvel’s First Family faces off against the walking, talking, planet-eating Galactus for the first time — sort of. Though the cosmic devourer has appeared in a Marvel film before, Matt Shakman’s latest entry to the MCU marks the first time an actor has actually portrayed Galactus.
When the Fantastic Four meet Galactus, they are faced with a colossal man in purple garb with a tuning fork helmet. Despite the visual silliness of this character, his immense size and booming, theater-shaking voice immediately establish a threat unlike the Four have ever faced.
But who lent their voice to give Galactus such gravitas? Read on to meet the man behind the planet eater.
Who plays Galactus in “The Fantastic Four: First Steps”
To play Galactus, Marvel Studios tapped Ralph Ineson, a Robert Eggers regular and rising horror icon known for “The Witch,” “The First Omen” and “Nosferatu.” Ineson has appeared in a number of franchises including “Harry Potter,” “Game of Thrones” and “Star Wars.” This isn’t even his first time in the MCU. Ineson briefly appeared in “Guardians of the Galaxy” as an unnamed Ravager pilot in Yondu’s crew.
One of the most relevant roles to Galactus, Ineson portrayed the titular Arthurian legend in David Lowery’s “The Green Knight.” Adapted from the poem “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight,” the film features Ineson, caked in makeup, as a tree-like knight who portends doom for Dev Patel’s Gawain. This role certainly feels like an inspiration for the portrayal of Galactus in “First Steps,” with Ineson’s sonorous voice and poetic way of speaking stirring dread in both films.
Is Galactus CGI?
Galactus is not an entirely computer-generated creation in “The Fantastic Four: First Steps.” At San Diego Comic-Con, fans were able to see the practical suit worn by Ineson to portray the space giant.
Ineson shared a look at his practical costume and makeup on Instagram. The highly-detailed design portrays the ancient devourer as if he were a spaceship or stellar relic himself. In one photo, Ineson poses in-costume with his daughter, wearing a hat that she made herself resembling Galactus’ helmet.
“It literally took an army to get Galactus onto screen, and I’m very proud of the end product of all our hard work,” Ineson shared on Instagram.
Has Galactus been in a movie before?
Technically? Yes.
Like “First Steps,” 2007’s “Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer” loosely adapted Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s “Galactus Trilogy” — a storyline Galactus debuted in starting with 1965’s “Fantastic Four #48.” In that sequel to 2005’s “Fantastic Four,” the superhero team comes into contact with the Silver Surfer for the first time after the cosmic being leads Galactus to Earth. Doug Jones and Laurence Fishburne work together to portray the Surfer’s body and voice, respectively.
But who plays Galactus? Well, nobody.
“Rise of the Silver Surfer” shies away from portraying Galactus in all his goofy comic glory. Rather than a giant man with a purple costume, the film depicts Galactus as a space cloud that floats around eating planets. There are a few points where shadows evoke Galactus’ iconic helmet, but that’s about the most fans get.
This Galactus design isn’t fully without comic book precedent. In Marvel Comics’ Ultimate Universe of Earth-1610, the book “Ultimate Extinction” (the finale of a new “Galactus Trilogy”) introduces the cosmic being in a new way. In this universe, the world-devourer is known as Gah Lak Tus, a cosmic swarm of Kree-made robots floating through space and consuming planets. Eventually, Gah Lak Tus and the Galactus of Marvel’s main universe (Earth-616) merged in a multiversal saga leading up to “Secret Wars.”
