The Silver Surfer is portrayed as a woman in the upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) movie "Fantastic Four: First Steps" because the character is not simply a gender-swapped version of the original male Silver Surfer, Norrin Radd. Instead, the MCU introduces a different character, Shalla-Bal, who takes on the mantle of Silver Surfer in this story. Shalla-Bal is traditionally known as Norrin Radd's lover and a royal figure of the planet Zenn-La, and in an alternate reality called Earth X, she becomes the Silver Surfer after being transformed by Galactus. This approach leverages the multiverse concept rather than retconning the original character. Julia Garner plays this female Silver Surfer, adding a fresh and distinctive narrative element to the Fantastic Four story in the MCU. This female Silver Surfer is not a new invention but has precedent in Marvel comics, where several characters—male and female—have held the title of Silver Surfer across different universes. In summary, the Silver Surfer is a girl in this MCU project because the story is drawing from an alternate version of the character (Shalla-Bal) rather than simply changing the gender of Norrin Radd, expanding the Marvel multiverse lore rather than replacing the classic character.
