The MCU will finally debut its version of Galactus in The Fantastic Four: First Steps in July, and the latest trailer has just made me realize how huge he will be. This is despite trailers for The Fantastic Four: First Steps being coy about revealing Galactus’ facial features, as portrayed by Ralph Ineson in the upcoming MCU movie.
Short of a closer look at Galactus, teases alone have confirmed that this live-action rendition of the character will be comics-accurate, continuing Marvel Studios’ positive habit of doing so. As the main villain of The Fantastic Four: First Steps, he will also be sticking to his traditional MO.
Namely, Julia Garner’s Shalla-Bal, AKA the Silver Surfer, is seen declaring that the Earth is marked for death. As the herald of Galactus, this means the gargantuan enтιтy is likely looking to consume the planet for energy.
Suffice it to say, this would require Galactus to be as big as, if not larger than, the Celestials already seen in the MCU in such installments as Eternals. Thankfully, despite what was initially shown of the enтιтy in previous promotional materials, it seems this will be the case.
The MCU’s Galactus Looked Smaller Than I Expected In The First The Fantastic Four: First Steps Teases
Galactus Is Smaller Than Manhattan
Galactus was first revealed around the same time as the тιтle of The Fantastic Four: First Steps as part of a moment-long promotional video. In it, the cosmic enтιтy can be seen peering through the window of the Baxter Building, startling the Fantastic Four’s robot, HERBIE.
While I am aware that the character in Marvel Comics can alter his size to navigate planets like Earth better and communicate with their inhabitants, I have nonetheless been concerned by the uniform size of the character in trailers.
Subsequent teasers then revealed piecemeal glimpses of Galactus and his stature. In one, Galactus’ shadow can be seen enveloping part of the alternate universe City of New York. In another, his giant boot is seen striding through the city streets, causing devastation on the ground as he does.
In all instances, however, I couldn’t help but think that while this version of Galactus is huge, he isn’t big enough. While I am aware that the character in Marvel Comics can alter his size to navigate planets like Earth better and communicate with their inhabitants, I have nonetheless been concerned by the uniform size of the character in trailers.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ New Trailer Makes Galactus Feel Way Bigger
One SH๏τ In Particular Makes Him Look Gargantuan
Thankfully, the latest trailer for The Fantastic Four: First Steps has helped to ᴀssuage my concerns. Instead of being simply big enough to topple a building with ease, a new sH๏τ of Galactus feels impossibly vast, with a sH๏τ centered on his chest standing out as a particularly accurate depiction of his size.
Specific decisions for his character design compound this sheer scale. His distinctive armor has been etched with engravings and dotted with lights that evoke the image of an otherworldly structure as large as the planets Galactus seeks to consume.
In Marvel Comics, Galactus tends to transform planets into a consumable energy source rather than outright swallowing them whole.
If Galactus is, at any point, shown to be even slightly as large as the Celestials in Eternals, then we could be in for quite the spectacle. The cosmic enтιтy has the potential to be Lovecraftian, and I look forward to seeing how well this juxtaposes with the otherwise bright and lighthearted tones we’ve seen in the trailers.
This is how it should be. Galactus is a terrifying villain because of his scale and dispᴀssion, and given The Fantastic Four: First Steps already looks poised to replicate the panels of a comic book, I am optimistic we’ll see some of the fantastic panels afforded to a supersized Galactus replicated on-screen as well.
I’m Glad It Looks Like Galactus Is Finally Getting A More Accurate Movie Appearance
The MCU’s Galactus Is Already Striking The Right Chord
Ralph Ineson’s rendition of the classic Fantastic Four villain won’t be the first in live-action. The world-eater first debuted in 2007’s Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. Unfortunately, this was a particularly poorly received interpretation.
It’s this focus on accurately reflecting his character design that fills me with confidence that Galactus will also be comics-accurate in scale.
Galactus is one of Marvel Comics’ most striking characters with an instantly recognizable design characterized by his horned helmet and magenta and blue color scheme, neither of which was afforded to the first live-action Galactus. It appears instead that the MCU will be picking up the slack.
The silhouette in one of the teasers for The Fantastic Four: First Steps was all that was needed to ᴀssure me that Galactus would at least look accurate. It’s this focus on accurately reflecting his character design that fills me with confidence that Galactus will also be comics-accurate in scale.
