Why Does The MCU's Silver Surfer CGI Look So Weird

By Karlis Wilde

Published Apr 17, 2025

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The Fantastic Four: First Steps releases in just a few months, there is much about the film's story and characters that has not yet been shared. With this in mind, many have wondered how the film’s design and other elements will align with some of the comic book precedents.

Most notably, the Silver Surfer was revealed in the new trailer, played by Julia Garner, best known for her role in Ozark. The character is usually portrayed as male, as the main iteration from the comic books, Norrin Radd. This version is different, and is instead Shalla-Bal, who debuted in 1968's Silver Surfer issue #1 as the romantic interest to Norrin Radd. Shalla-Bal would not go on to become the Silver Surfer herself until a multiversal story from much later in the comic books, from which the new film draws inspiration.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps Trailer Revealed A First Look At The MCU's Silver Surfer

The First Look At Shalla-Bal Was Provided In The New Trailer

There were many new The Fantastic Four: First Steps, which gave audiences a better look at the story of the film. Most importantly, amidst all the other details, the first look at Shalla-Bal, the Silver Surfer, was revealed. In the film, Shalla-Bal has a reflective design, with her entire body and hair, and the surfboard-like vehicle she uses, completely made up of a silver-like metallic substance.

Shalla-Bal descends from the dark sky in the trailer, notifying the heroes that their "planet is now marked for death." Appearing from the foreboding darkness of space, and working as a herald of Galactus, this new Silver Surfer is given a terrifying entrance to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Alongside effects that showed Johnny following her into space, and being knocked back by a spin move she performs, this new iteration of the popular Marvel character appears uniquely terrifying in the new trailer.

Why The MCU's Silver Surfer CGI Looks So Weird

Shalla-Bal Looks Truly Otherworldly

The Silver Surfer is an interesting character design, amidst several changes in The Fantastic Four film, that is surprisingly difficult to get right in live-action. Some have not responded as positively to the new design, which seems truly otherworldly. While the metal appearance of her skin is designed to be reflective, the way that the lights actually play off of her body in the trailer is unsettling. Fortunately, this weird design, which appears unnatural, helps to highlight just how alien the new character is meant to be perceived.

Sharing some design similarities with characters such as the T-1000 from Terminator 2: Judgement Day, the design for this new Silver Surfer appears to be intentionally unsettling. The character comes down from the sky, and her appearance is so alien that it makes her first scene that much more disturbing. With interactions that she controls almost entirely, and the deep pull of distant space at her disposal, this new character seems to be very intentionally designed to be a part of a bigger, more disturbing cosmos.

How The MCU's Silver Surfer CGI Compares To 2007's Rise Of The Silver Surfer

Norrin Rad Appeared In Fantastic Four 2

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer was far from a perfect film, but many agree that the movie did a great job with how it depicted Norrin Radd, who was supposed to get a spinoff solo Silver Surfer movie. Pulling from the more traditional comic book iterations of the character, Doug Jones provided the motion capture, and Laurence Fishburne lent his voice to Norrin Radd. The design may look dated by contemporary standards in special effects (though not by much), but it was a surprisingly faithful recreation of the source material, with a great, reflective design.

Granted, Shalla-Bal's CGI looks more modern, and much more polished. However, the design used for the original Norrin Rad iteration might have been stronger. Shalla-Bal's rendition appears to be a more otherworldly and haunting design. With Norrin Radd, the character was simply made to look as much like his comic book counterpart as possible, even if that came to creating effects that would not age well in the years that have ed. Either way, both are interesting and mostly faithful recreations of the comic book designs.

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The new trailer for The Fantastic Four: First Steps gave audiences an important first look at Shalla-Bal, but it will be necessary to see how she appears in the final film. Whether or not the effects themselves are finished, films like this are intended to be seen on the biggest screens possible, and their effects are scaled to that standard. Audiences will need to see the movie in cinemas to genuinely understand what it is that the creative team is going for with Shalla-Bal in the new Marvel movie.