With Thanos defeated, the MCU can breathe easy for a while. But there’s something worse looming on the horizon.
Now that Disney has purchased Fox and the Fantastic Four IP, they have the rights to Galactus. The colossal cosmic entity is more of a force of nature than a true villain, roaming the universe and consuming planets without morality or judgment. Many see Galactus as playing a necessary role within the Marvel Universe, like an interstellar gardener pruning back planets that have grown too wild. But that’s not much comfort if it’s your planet being pruned.
Now, we’re hearing from our sources that Marvel Studios are actively exploring how Galactus might appear in the MCU and while they’re considering several different actors they’d like for the part, with Liam Neeson’s name mentioned as one possibility, it’s also said that they’re exploring what it’d be like for an actress – someone like Emma Thompson, apparently – to take the role and have Galactus be female in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And given that these are the same sources who told us Taskmaster would be the villain in Black Widow and that a She-Hulk show was coming to Disney Plus, both of which turned out to be true, we’ve no reason to doubt them.
As is the case whenever switching the gender of an established character is mooted, there will no doubt be naysayers if the studio goes in this direction. But given how vociferously people complain about the feminization of superheroes, maybe they’d appreciate the irony of a giant woman appearing to consume the MCU Earth and all its inhabitants?
Of course, any final call on this won’t be made for a long while yet. As was the case with Thanos, Galactus’ first full appearance would likely come at the end of a ten-year build-up. First of all, Marvel Studios would probably want to establish the MCU Fantastic Four, and then we could see a Silver Surfer movie as he’s the ‘Herald of Galactus.’ So, if Lady Galactus does appear, don’t expect it before the late 2020s. But he or she is coming, and at least this time, they won’t be a damn cloud.
