MOVIE NEWS – The Fantastic Four: First Steps has taken many by surprise, turning out to be yet another Marvel box office smash. Despite all the skepticism—much of it centered on Julia Garner taking over the Silver Surfer as a female version—there’s one person who doesn’t seem bothered at all: Doug Jones, the original Surfer from 2007. The iconic creature performer sees the new movie as a natural evolution for the character, fully rooted in comic book lore, and says he’s excited to see the legacy continue.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps has proven doubters wrong and brought another hugely successful, crowd-pleasing Marvel movie to cinemas. This is possibly surprising to those who believed the film was going to be a dud, including some who took issue with the movie having a female Silver Surfer in Julia Garner. However, one person who had no problem at all with seeing the Silver Surfer take on another gender in the film is the original Surfer, Doug Jones.

As one of the greatest creature actors of a generation, Jones’ appearance as Norrin Radd in 2007’s The Fantastic Four: The Rise of the Silver Surfer was memorable, despite the Surfer’s CGI appearance being a little dated compared to modern VFX. While being asked about what he thought of his new female counterpart in First Steps, Jones explained how he was honored to see the legacy of the Surfer move on and follow another iteration from Marvel Comics. “I do wish Julia Garner well. I love what I’ve seen in the trailers so far. It’s a different take on the Surfer, and she does exist in the comic books as well. There’s source material to back her up. So I’m excited to see how they bring that to the film world.”

One of the early complaints about the movie was the casting of Julia Garner in the role of the Silver Surfer. While the previous iteration of the Surfer was Norrin Radd, the male version who appeared in The Rise of the Silver Surfer, many called out the genderswapping of the character when Garner’s casting was announced. Of course, as Jones said, the Surfer was not exactly genderswapped, but the version seen in First Steps is a different version by the name of Shalla-Bal, another herald of Galactus who also appeared in the comics.

The Fantastic Four’s Box Office Success Continues the Marvel Streak

This summer always looked set to be a battle between Superman and The Fantastic Four: First Steps, and as expected, Marvel’s latest offering is pulling in huge numbers at the box office. The movie’s domestic opening day was $57 million, and its weekend total is projected to hit $125 million—almost identical to Superman’s debut two weeks ago. Whether The Fantastic Four or Superman will ultimately claim the title of the year’s biggest superhero movie remains to be seen, but the race is shaping up to be incredibly close.

Despite persistent claims that superhero movies are in decline, this summer has clearly proven the opposite. Sure, not every comic book film is a massive hit, but the majority of Marvel movies remain profitable, and as long as that continues, there’s no reason to worry about the future of the genre.

Now that The Fantastic Four: First Steps is in theaters, Marvel fans have about a year to wait for the next MCU adventure. Following several release date shifts, the next movie on the slate is Spider-Man: Brand New Day in summer 2026, then Avengers: Doomsday in December 2026.

Source: MovieWeb