The John Malkovich's mystery MCU character, whose identity remains a mystery.
One of the most exciting reveals from The Fantastic Four: First Steps' first trailer is Galactus. Galactuss is usually considered one of the most powerful Marvel characters ever, yet he has only appeared once in live-action. Eighteen years after Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer's poorly received adaptation of Galactus, the Devourer of Worlds finally makes his official MCU debut in The Fantastic Four: First Steps, where he adopts his iconic anthropomorphic form to visit Earth. Unlike Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer's voiceless iteration of the character, the MCU's Galactus will be played by an actor, Ralph Ineson.
Galactus' First Look Makes Him Seem Tiny
Galactus Is Considerably Smaller Than Manhattan In The Fantastic Four: First Steps' First Trailer
The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ first trailer doesn’t reveal Galactus’ face, as the villain is only shown from the back. Still, it’s made pretty clear that Galactus is a fraction of the size he’s usually depicted to be. The first shot featuring Galactus shows a shadow looming over New York City. Going by the size of the shadow's head in this shot, Galactus seems to be the size of Manhattan. However, in the next shot, Galactus appears to be barely taller than the Statue of Liberty — that is, hundreds of times smaller than he looks in the previous shot.
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The Fantastic Four: First Steps' trailer shown at San Diego Comic-Con 2024 ended with a brief shot of Galactus approaching the Baxter building. That specific shot doesn't appear in The Fantastic Four: First Steps' first official trailer, but it probably will be included in future promotional material and in the movie. In that particular scene, Galactus' size seems to fall somewhere between the two shots included in the first official trailer. Galactus' size changes probably aren't a mistake, however.
How Big Is Galactus In The Comics
Galactus' Size Fluctuates In The Source Material
Galactus’ smaller size in the trailer is actually faithful to the comics, as he possesses the ability to change his size and appearance at will. Galactus first appeared in 1968's Fantastic Four #48, where he appears to be smaller than a NYC skyscraper. In his next few comic book appearances, Galactus' size changed back and forth, from around six times the size of the Thing to half the size of the cities he invaded. Throughout the years, Galactus' size increased, to the point that he often seems to be many times the size of the Earth when he unveils his presence.
Apart from his size, Galactus' physical appearance also changes depending on the individuals who see him
Marvel has repeatedly clarified that Galactus is able to increase and reduce the size of his body. Galactus tends to shrink himself in order to fight and interact with the inhabitants of the planets he attacks, and he increases his size to consume those planets. Galactus' body can also shrink when he's low on energy, putting him on a similar level of strength to other giant-sized villains like Fin Fang Foom. Apart from his size, Galactus' physical appearance also changes depending on the individuals who see him — humans see him as a humanoid creature, while Squirrel Girl'sr squirrels see him as a giant squirrel, for example.
The Comics Accurate Galactus Absolves Marvel Of A Major Live-Action Crime
The MCU Found A Better Way To Make Galactus A Practical Villain Without Turning Him Into An Inanimate Force Of Nature
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Sufer's Galactus is infamous for his apperance. Instead of a humanoid giant with alien armor and a horned helmet, this version of the Devourer of Worlds was depicted as a spinning cosmic cloud with a hole in the middle, like a combination of a massive hurricane and a black hole. Galactus' 2007 redesign seemed like a clear attempt at modernizing the villain in a realistic way. However, this approach backfired.
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Introducing a villain many times bigger than the Earth presents a unique challenge. Not only is it almost impossible for the heroes to defeat such a big and inherently powerful enemy, but it would also be extremely difficult for such a villain to interact with the heroes. Similarly to his comic book counterpart, The Fantastic Four: First Steps' Galactus isn't locked to a cosmic scale, but he retains his iconic appearance and his ability to interact with other characters.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps
- Release Date
- July 25, 2025
- Runtime
- 130 Minutes
- Director
- Matt Shakman
- Writers
- Jeff Kaplan, Josh Friedman, Ian Springer, Eric Pearson, Stan Lee
- Producers
- Jamie Christopher, Kevin Feige, Louis D'Esposito, Tim Lewis
Cast
Reed Richards / Mr. Fantastic
Vanessa KirbySue Storm / The Invisible Woman
Johnny Storm / Human Torch
Ebon Moss-BachrachBen Grimm / The Thing
- Franchise(s)
- Marvel Cinematic Universe
- Studio(s)
- Marvel Studios
- Distributor(s)
- Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
