Galactus is coming to the MCU.
After months of speculation, Marvel officially announced that theyve found their Galactus.
While any of those baddies would be fun, the Galactus casting deserves the most attention.
As wonderful as that story was, the Galactus in those issues wasnt much of a character.
He was simply an unknowable force.
However, in later tales, Galactus grew to be an actual person and, therefore, more pitiful.
Lee and Kirby revealed Galactus origin not in Fantastic Four, but in another favorite of theirs, Thor.
InThor#169 (1969), Galactus agrees to share his sad tale with the God of Thunder.
Galactus was born Galan, an explorer from an advanced utopian planet called Taa.
Despite all their achievements, Taa could not forestall the destruction of the universe.
Galan succeeds, after a fashion.
Bathed in cosmic rays, Galan experiences the collapse of his universe and birth of the new universe.
But when he awakens, he has changed, overcome with an insatiable hunger.
The best Galactus stories acknowledge that sorrow, including a moving single issue within a larger Silver Surfer series.
There he finds Galactus freshly emerged from his incubation chamber and just now realizing his new fate.
But the Surfer pauses for a moment and allows Galactus to speak.
What do I become?
Galan asks the Surfer, his plaintive face off-set by a light tan background.
Death, answers the Surfer, looking fierce and righteous.
These few pages reveal the depth of Galactuss sorrow.
In his desire to protect a planet he loved, he lost his identity as Galan.
When the Celestials defeat Galactus, Franklin uses his powers to revive him and defeat the invaders.
As a result, the adult Franklin takes the World Devourer role while Galactus becomes his herald.
Although out of main continuity, those last two instances may be important forThe Fantastic Four.
And early plot rumors have suggested that Franklin plays a key role.
Lastly, the currentMultiverse Sagaclimaxes with the sixthAvengersmovie, currently titledAvengers: Secret Wars.
Its hard to think of an actor better suited for that take than Ralph Ineson.
Obviously, his rumbling baritone suggests power, as one would expect for Galactus.
But Ineson excels at mingling pathos if not outright sorrow into his line deliveries.
In each of these cases, Inesons performance communicates great strength.
But he also includes a level of sadness, as if already regretful for the actions he must take.
After all, thats the real Galactus, the one fans have wanted to see for so long.
The Fantastic Four releases to theaters on July 25, 2025.
