Exclusive: Silver Surfer Marvel Special In Development
Like Werewolf By Night, Marvel Studios plans to introduce their new version of Silver Surfer through a Disney+ special which is currently in development.
The Sky-Rider of the Spaceways is finally making his way to the Marvel Cinematic Universes. Our trusted and proven sources have informed us that Marvel Studios is developing a Silver Surfer one-off special for Disney+. Presumably emboldened by the acclaim their upcoming special Werewolf by Night is receiving–judging by its 92% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes–the studio has decided their horror characters aren’t the only ones they can introduce via streaming special.
Of course, as anyone familiar at all with the Silver Surfer of the comics will be aware, this is the kind of news that comes with a bonus. In order to introduce Silver Surfer to the MCU, the upcoming special will almost certainly have to introduce the world-devouring villain Galactus. Though he eventually turns on his master, the Surfer was introduced in the source material as the Herald of Galactus; serving the world-eater by finding him new planets to consume.
As to why Marvel is choosing to introduce Silver Surfer to their cinematic narrative on Disney+ rather than in his own movie, we can only speculate. One possibility is that with his only live-action movie appearance so far–2007’s Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer–not exactly being the most well regarded flick in the superhero genre, Marvel isn’t confident about the box office returns. Another possibility is that Marvel sees a one-off special as a chance to save time either in the upcoming Fantastic Four or another feature.
In the comics, Silver Surfer starts off as Norrin Radd, a native of the planet Zenn-La who agrees to take on a portion of the power of Galactus and become the villain’s Herald in return for Galactus sparing his homeworld. When the Surfer’s long dormant emotions are stirred by the FF side character Alicia Masters, he turns on his master and refuses to help him devour the Earth. As punishment, Galactus erects an invisible force field around the planet which denies Surfer–and only Surfer–the ability to leave.
The Earth is spared Galactus’s wrath, but Silver Surfer is denied the stars to which he passionately yearns to return.
That’s potentially a lot of story to get out of the way in a feature, particularly if it isn’t the main story the filmmakers want to tell. Streaming a Silver Surfer special could get at least some of his origin out of the way and make him ready to surf onto the big screen.
It’s likely no mistake this news comes not long after reports that–in the wake of losing Spider-Man: No Way Home‘s Jon Watts as director–the Fantastic Four reboot is finally moving forward with Matt Shakman (WandaVision) directing from a script by Jeff Kaplan and Ian Springer. First appearing in 1965’s Fantastic Four #48, the Silver Surfer’s history is married to that of the FF.
Marvel fans have been waiting for a while for the return of one of the most–if not the most–popular cosmic heroes in the company’s arsenal. There’s no word yet on who will play the character in the Disney+ special. In Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer, the character was created digitally with Doug Jones (Star Trek: Discovery) playing the Surfer on set and Laurence Fishburne (The Matrix) providing his voice.
