We know that a Fantastic Four sequel goes before cameras later this year, and just the other day we heard that returning director Tim Story spilled a couple of beans about Dr. Doom making another appearance (although without context — theoretically he could just be a big statue). But in all likelihood, the FF will be facing a different villain. Could it be the biggest of them all?
CHUD reader ‘Ryan B.’ found an announcement from a casting agency seeking roles for FF2 (I’m not going to provide a link, for two reasons: because I don’t feel like giving them free advertising, and they’re probably full of shit about this). But besides an open call for auditions and a listed start date of June 2006, they simply provide the following logline for the sequel: The Fantastic Four will battle Silver Surfer and his planet-eating master Galactus.
For those of you who aren’t Marvel fans, Galactus is a gigantic galaxy-trotting alien being who basically dismantles worlds and subsists off their energy. Silver Surfer is his official herald, a chrome-skinned cosmic-powered humanoid sent forth to seek planets with sufficient lifeforce to fill his boss’ gargantuan tummy.
But their involvement in the sequel seems suspect. For one thing, that’s quite a jump in foe power levels for a quartet who’s really just learning how to deal with their abilities — despite the space typhoon (or whatever) that granted the FF those handy superpowers, the first movie was reasonably grounded. And while it’d probably be neat to have them resolving the Galactus matter using brains and big pseudo-science instead of a fire hydrant, the franchise doesn’t seem particularly interested in the cerebral route. But the biggest red light is that we know Marvel has been trying to get a Silver Surfer solo movie going for ages, unless this is their way to test the waters, introduce the character and gauge interest in the shiny guy.
For now, I’ll assume this is either a campaign of misinformation on Marvel’s part, or simply conjecture or outright baloney by whoever wrote the casting call. I don’t have Avi Arad on speed-dial, so we’ll have to await verification or denial on this, but we’ll know for sure in a few months when the project gets rolling.