After Marvel unveiled a first look at Ralph Ineson's Galactus in Fantastic Four: First Steps, fans immediately pointed out the similarities to Los Angeles Clippers' lead assistant Jeff Van Gundy.
Drank Man Please on X, formerly Twitter, pointed out the similarities between the two. Their post went viral, with over 1.3 million views.
It is hard not to see the similarities that the X user points out. The mouth area of Galactus does resemble Van Gundy. The glowing eyes and headpiece do distinguish him, though.
Van Gundy is a basketball coach and former commentator. Currently, he is the lead assistant for the Clippers. He joined the team in 2024, and he works under head coach Tyronn Lue.
It is Van Gundy's first NBA coaching job in over a decade. Before jumping to the Clippers, he was one of the Boston Celtics' senior consultants in 2023. They won the NBA Finals in his first season with them, giving Van Gundy his first NBA Championship.
Previously, he was the head coach of the New York Knicks and Houston Rockets. After being fired by the Rockets in 2007, Van Gundy started working with ESPN as an analyst. He was let go in 2023 during a wave of their layoffs.
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Ineson will play Galactus in Marvel's upcoming Fantastic Four: First Steps movie. He is perhaps best known for playing Amycus Carrow in the last three Harry Potter movies. He has also starred in Robert Eggers' The Witch and Nosferatu. Ineson also starred in the title role of The Green Knight.
Galactus is likely one of the MCU's next big bads. The character consumes the life force of planets, and it looks like the Fantastic Four will have to thwart his attack in First Steps.
First Steps is the MCU's first Fantastic Four movie. It will serve as the start of Phase Six of the MCU and will lead into Avengers: Doomsday.
Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach star as the Fantastic Four. Matt Shakman, who previously directed Marvel's WandaVision series, directed First Steps.
Fantastic Four: First Steps will also feature the Silver Surfer. Ozark star Julia Garner will play the character. Previously, Laurence Fishburne played the role in The Rise of the Silver Surfer.
