Fantastic Four: LaKeith Stanfield Teases Silver Surfer Talks

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has officially found its Silver Surfer. Though the character is typically seen as Norrin Radd, the version that will appear in the MCU is Shalla-Bal, who’s only appeared as the wielder of the Power Cosmic in Marvel’s Earth X stories. The character is now set to be played by Ozark star Julia Gardner, a casting that’s (expectedly) divided social media. As it turns out, another popular actor was in the mix to play a version of the character.

In a now-deleted post on social media, Atlanta’s LaKeith Stanfield hinted he was in talks for the role. Stanfield shared a graphic announcing Gardner’s casting, saying he “thought it was going to be me ig.” The post has since been removed from Stanfield’s profile.

Stanfield now has a working relationship with Disney, having appeared in last year’s Haunted Mansion reboot. At the time, Stanfield praised the care the company puts into its films.

“It was cool. Just the scale was really big,” Stanfield explained. “And that’s what I realized at first, walking onto the set, it was just so intricate. And it’s like Rosario pointed out in a conversation that we were having about the level of detail and how many people are involved, it’s like a small city. You walk on set, you’re like, ‘Wow, there’s so many people who specialize in their particular aspects.’ And it was just nice to have that. And to be involved with this ensemble of just so many different people from different backgrounds that are helping us do this one thing together. It really felt communal and cool.”

He continued, “And it made me think about how this is life. It’s us, as living beings, working together for a common goal. And it kind of is interesting to think about mortality and all of that and how the generation sort of come in and out tides, and what we’re doing while we’re here and how we help each other. And I don’t know, there’s something like metaphorical about that. While we were on set, I was like, ‘Wow, we’re all here right now. We all won’t always be, but we’re all here right now and we’re enjoying this moment and that matters.’ So, it was cool.”

The Fantastic Four is currently scheduled to be released exclusively in theaters on July 25, 2025.  Fox’s first three Fantastic Four movies are now streaming on Disney+.