Game of Thrones star Ralph Ineson joins Marvel's Fantastic Four as big bad Galactus

Galactus in Marvel Comics and Ralph Ineson in The Witch
(Image credit: Marvel Comics / A24)

Galactus, one of the most ominous villains in all of Marvel lore, has reportedly been cast for Marvel's upcoming Fantastic Four reboot movie. According to The Hollywood Reporter, actor Ralph Ineson is in talks for the role, and it's close enough that THR is calling it "cast."

Ineson is perhaps best known for his role as doomed family patriarch William in 2015's The Witch, but he's had roles in Game of Thrones, Harry Potter, Chernobyl… and the list goes on and on, really. And of course, those who remember the original version of The Office will remember Ineson for his role as fabled office bully Chris Finch.

Perhaps most relevant for his reported casting as Galactus, Ineson also portrayed the eponymous Green Knight in the 2021 folk-fantasy film of the same name, a role that included both prosthetics and voice performance.

For those not in the know, Galactus is, essentially, a 100-foot-tall guy in a big helmet who travels around the Marvel Universe devouring the life force of planets, which are sought out for him by his herald, the Silver Surfer. Julia Garner has already been cast as an alternate Silver Surfer, Shalla-Bal, so Ineson completes the package.

In comics, Galactus encounters the Fantastic Four when the Silver Surfer guides him to Earth, before having a change of heart and helping the FF save the day. One piece of Galactus trivia which may be relevant, given the supposed alt-reality setting of the film, is that he's actually the only survivor of a dead universe, reborn as the cosmic world-eater Galactus. 

Ineson's casting follows recent reports that both John Malkovich and Paul Walter Hauser have been cast in the film in unnamed roles. In addition to the aforementioned casting of Julia Garner as the Silver Surfer, the main cast includes Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm/Invisible Woman, Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm/Human Torch, and Eben Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm/Thing.

Fantastic Four is scheduled to release in theaters in July 2025.

The original Galactus Saga is one of the comics Marvel Studios says is a big influence on the Fantastic Four reboot movie.

George Marston

I've been Newsarama's resident Marvel Comics expert and general comic book historian since 2011. I've also been the on-site reporter at most major comic conventions such as Comic-Con International: San Diego, New York Comic Con, and C2E2. Outside of comic journalism, I am the artist of many weird pictures, and the guitarist of many heavy riffs. (They/Them)

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