Marvel’s cosmic hero the Silver Surfer may have a mythology deeper and more complicated than the average fan realizes, but his popularity speaks for itself. But with rumors of a Silver Surfer movie in the MCU now starting to spread, there's no question it's fantastic news for Marvel Comic fans--whether they realize it or not.
While a completely comics-faithful adaptation of the Silver Surfer’s adventures is unlikely, the fact that the Fantastic Four will enter the MCU in the near future means some of the pieces are in place for this classic story. Not only is the Sentinel of the Spaceways an incredibly powerful character with an emotional origin story, his movie could herald a new era of cosmic-level threats for the MCU that dwarfs anything fans have seen before (yes, including Thanos). Here are just a few ways a Silver Surfer movie could reshape the MCU.
A Silver Surfer Movie Can Tell One of Marvel’s Best Stories
Those only familiar with the Silver Surfer through his appearance in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer may not know the connection the Surfer has to many heroes, or the massive effect his adventures have had on the Marvel Universe. First introduced in the classic story “The Coming of Galactus!” in Fantastic Four #48 (1966), the Silver Surfer came to Earth as a herald of Galactus, a cosmic force of nature that survives by consuming the life force of planets such as Earth. Initially an antagonist to the Fantastic Four, the Surfer sympathizes with humanity and helps the heroes drive away Galactus, causing an angry Galactus to erect an energy shield, imprisoning the Silver Surfer on Earth. The Surfer later escapes his exile, and travels the universe, seeking to atone for his role in destroying countless worlds by aiding as many alien civilizations as he can.
Legendary Marvel artist Jack Kirby created the Silver Surfer. According to Stan Lee in The Ultimate Silver Surfer, Kirby designed the Surfer as a man who traveled through space on a flying surfboard because the artist was tired of drawing spaceships. Although Lee thought the idea was crazy, the Silver Surfer soon became his favorite character, and he created his origin story in Silver Surfer #1, revealing he was once Norrin Radd, an alien who offered to find worlds for Galactus in exchange for the Devourer of Worlds' pledge to spare his home planet of Zenn-La. Galactus gave Radd god-like powers but also erased his memories, forcing the Silver Surfer to slowly regain his identity during his adventures.
Even if elements of the Silver Surfer’s origin are tweaked, his basic story – of a man who gives up his humanity to save his world, only to rediscover it by saving another one – is very powerful. And by telling it against the backdrop of the MCU’s weird and otherworldly alien planets and civilizations, the story can take on some truly space operatic proportions.
Silver Surfer Can Bring Cosmic-Level Threats to the MCU
Guardians of the Galaxy and Captain Marvel showcased the MCU’s cosmic realm, but haven’t offered any new Thanos-level threats. Kurt Russel’s Ego, The Living Planet met an abrupt end when he was destroyed by an improvised bomb in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. And Captain Marvel gave its hero so much power most fans feel she can’t be challenged – much less beaten – by any villain in the MCU.
A Silver Surfer movie could fix all that. When Galactus transformed Norrin Radd, he gave him a portion of his Power Cosmic, a nearly omnipotent energy source given to all Heralds of Galactus. This makes the Silver Surfer stronger than both Hulk and Thor, able to hurl bolts of cosmic energy, transmute elements, read minds, fly faster than the speed of light on his surfboard (which he controls by thought), travel through time, heal others, and accomplish other feats that visual FX teams can have a field day depicting on the big screen. Of course, with great power comes greater challenges, and the Surfer regularly faces entities that dwarf even his might.
From Marvel’s Living Tribunal (referenced in Doctor Strange and one of the few beings who can overpower the Infinity Gauntlet), to Mephisto (Marvel’s stand in for the Devil), to Eternity (the living embodiment of all existence), the Silver Surfer’s world is full of beings that can make MCU heroes like Captain Marvel, Doctor Strange, and the Scarlet Witch rethink where they really fall on the power scale. Their introduction can infuse future MCU stories with higher stakes and greater drama.
Of course, most Silver Surfer fans will want the movie to focus on one cosmic entity: his former master Galactus. Disappointingly depicted as a cloud of cosmic dust the Surfer easily vaporized in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, the comic version of Galactus is a universal force of nature who can create god-like beings like the Silver Surfer with just a fraction of his Power Cosmic, indicating how insanely high he falls on the power scale. And with Galactus possibly being one of the main villains for the MCU’s Phase 4 films, one can only imagine how intimidating this Devourer of Worlds will be – or how his story could be told in a possible Silver Surfer movie.
The Silver Surfer Movie History
Although rumors of the Silver Surfer’s entry into the MCU have only begun circulating, many famous Hollywood names have been associated with a Silver Surfer movie. In the 1990s, Quentin Tarantino pitched a Silver Surfer script that was rejected. Later, two USC film students got permission to produce a 5-minute independent live action Silver Surfer film (check it out above), which allegedly got the attention of both Oliver Stone and Chris Columbus who wanted to direct a feature length film. In 2007 Tim Story finally brought the Silver Surfer to the big screen in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, where the Surfer was portrayed through motion capture by Doug Jones and voiced by Laurence Fishburne. While impressive-looking, many fans disliked this watered-down version of the Silver Surfer, who lost his powers when he fell off his surfboard.
With the Disney/Fox merger, however, and the growing popularity of the MCU, a solo Silver Surfer movie seems possible again. Recently, Ant-Man co-writer and Academy Award winner Adam McKay expressed his interest in making a Silver Surfer film and revealed he had spoken to Marvel about the project. McKay adds his vision of the Silver Surfer could incorporate the same visual effects the Wachowskis used for Speed Racer.
While fans will have to wait and see if anything comes of this, it’s clear a Silver Surfer movie will only add to the already rich tapestry of the MCU’s cosmic stage.