Julia Garner's Silver Surfer Draws Mixed Reactions

Summary

Marvel's The Fantastic Four: First Steps trailer features a female Silver Surfer, sparking mixed fan reactions.
Some criticized the gender-swapped Silver Surfer character, but defenders point out diverse versions exist in Marvel's multiverse, including the one they're adapting.
Labeling projects as "woke" due to diversity choices is increasingly common but highly subjective.

Marvel Entertainment dropped a new trailer for The Fantastic Four: First Steps. It revealed the first appearance of one antagonist, which received mixed reactions from fans.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps is one of the most anticipated films from Marvel Studios this year. The film, directed by Matt Shakman, stars Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm/Invisible Woman, Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm/Human Torch, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm/The Thing. The cast members have been promoting the film as of late, and on Thursday, Marvel Entertainment dropped its first official trailer. The nearly three-minute clip immediately garnered fans' attention, with over 3.6 million views just four hours after it was released. One of the things that fans immediately noticed was Julia Garner's appearance.

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By Catherine Armecin Martin

Garner plays the Silver Surfer in The Fantastic Four: First Steps. The trailer unveiled her official appearance in the anticipated MCU tentpole. While many were thrilled after watching the teaser, it also raised eyebrows because some critics felt that they gender-swapped the Silver Surfer by making the character female this time. Some called the move "woke." Culture Crave shared a GIF featuring Garner's Silver Surfer from the trailer on X, formerly Twitter. "Wokeeeee," one X user commented. Many users shared the same opinion, calling the film woke simply because the Silver Surfer was a woman. Another fan wrote, "Genderswap." Many also questioned why they opted to introduce a female Silver Surfer in the film when a male actor portrayed the character in the previous movies. Others claimed that the decision downgraded the character.

However, some also defended the move, noting that the Silver Surfer isn't a human, so its gender should not matter at all. Silver Surfer is a character who starts as one of The Fantastic Four's enemies but later becomes their ally. The original incarnation of the character debuted in 1966's Fantastic Four #48 as Norrin Radd from planet Zenn-La. His task was to scout for worlds that Galactus could devour. Although the character is traditionally male, Marvel has also introduced alternate versions in other timelines or universes, including female versions, such as Juno, the female Silver Surfer. However, the most popular and recognized is the male version, Norrin.

It Doesn't Make Sense To Claim The Fantastic Four: First Steps Is "Gender-Swapping" The Silver Surfer Because This Isn't Norrin Radd

The reaction from the social media users calling a project "woke" for allegedly gender-swapping a character is not surprising. Nowadays, it's easy for people to label something woke when they feel it doesn't align with their standards. For example, many called Doctor Who woke for casting a female actor to play the Doctor. Jodie Whittaker portrayed the Thirteenth Doctor in the sci-fi series. While many applauded her performance, some questioned her casting because the previous doctors were male. Many also labeled Snow White woke for casting a Latina actress to lead the Disney classic, where the titular character was described as someone with "hair as black as ebony, lips as red as the rose, skin as white as snow."

The term has been used to describe those who are politically progressive, advocating for diversity and inclusion, or supporting social causes. The word also has a negative connotation because it's being used to describe those pushing a particular agenda in media, politics, or education. Describing The Fantastic Four: First Step as woke for featuring a female Silver Surfer isn't necessarily true. Several MCU movies have featured the multiverse, so it's possible that they picked the female Silver Surfer from another universe for the upcoming film. Also, gender-swapping isn't even accurate in this case since a female Silver Surfer already exists in Marvel Comics. It seems like a safe bet that Norrin Radd will show up in another MCU project somewhere down the line. Regardless, this subject is divisive, and one is free to interpret the move however they see fit.