But, as pointed out in the original casting report and as we now know from seeing the movie, Garner did not simply replace Silver Surfer with a female version. She plays someone separate from the Norrin Raad character that’s actually in the comics: Shalla-Bal.

First Steps, much of the discussion was centered around culture war issues. Chief among them was the movie’s decision to make the Silver Surfer a woman when people are used to the Surfer being a man.