30 Years Ago, $1M Created The First Fantastic Four Movie Marvel Didn’t Want Released

The upcoming The Fantastic Four MCU reboot may be generating hype, but Marvel’s First Family was the star of another more maligned movie 30 years ago. Set for release on July 25, 2026, Fantastic Four is in its early stages of development as Marvel recently confirmed the cast in a Valentine’s Day promotional image. The image also heavily hinted at a 1960s setting, which would set the movie earlier than the team’s very first movie.

Despite 1994’s The Fantastic Four being one of four Fantastic Four projects so far, the MCU’s version will mark the first time that Marvel has had complete creative control over the movie. If Marvel’s handling of Spider-Man is any indication, this is a good sign, although recent MCU mistakes have tarnished Marvel’s nigh-unassailable track record of spewing out hits, which has introduced a measure of anxiety in the lead-up to its release. In any case, it will probably experience a smoother production than its infamous 1994 predecessor.

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The Fantastic Four 1994 Explained

The movie rights for The Fantastic Four were sold by Marvel to Constantin Film in 1986, around a decade before Fox and Sony bought the rights for X-Men and Spider-Man, respectively. Production for the first Fantastic Four movie began in late 1992, with Constantin Film hiring low-budget movie specialist Roger Corman to produce the movie for $1 million before the relatively unknown Oley Sassone was then brought on to direct. Filming for The Fantastic Four then took under a month.

The Fantastic Four 1994 Cast

For all the B-Movie tropes that earned it its middling-to-poor reviews, The Fantastic Four drew ample praise for its relatively unknown cast, who put noticeable effort into faithfully portraying the beloved comic book characters. Michael Bailey Smith’s Ben Grimm and Alex Hyde-White’s Reed Richards drew particular praise, with some even going on to say that this cast is responsible for the best renditions of the characters in cinema. Of these stars, Hyde-White, Staab, and Smith would go on to cultivate the most prolific acting careers in film and TV.

The Fantastic Four Story

In addition to the cast, The Fantastic Four has also drawn praise for portraying the most comic-accurate depiction of the titular team’s origin story thus far. The movie sees the team gain their powers from cosmic rays while flying in Reed’s experimental spacecraft, which leaves Grimm reeling from his altered appearance. The Fantastic Four then go toe-to-toe with Doctor Doom, who is a monarch and erstwhile college friend of Reed Richards, and encounter the blind artist Alicia Masters, who falls for Ben Grimm.

These similarities did not preclude The Fantastic Four from wielding plenty of creative license, however. The Jeweler, for instance, whose theft of The Fantastic Four’s protective diamond led to their exposure to cosmic rays, was created for the movie. He kidnaps Masters and provides the staging for Act 2, in which Doom seizes the diamond before threatening to turn his diamond-powered laser on New York City. The Fantastic Four defeat Doom before Johnny Storm diverts the laser in his Human Torch form in a brazen example of comic book science in action.

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Why The Fantastic Four 1994 Was Never Released

The Fantastic Four was replete with hammy B-Movie moments but still exuded charm – as mentioned by its supporters. This reportedly did not stop Marvel from panicking over the movie’s low-budget quality, however, and it was during a zealous press tour that a cease and desist order was delivered to the stars, as the presumed January 1994 release date was scrapped. According to Constantin Film studio head, Bernd Eichinger, this was due to Marvel Studios executives having paid the production costs in exchange for halting its release, citing its low-budget quality as a potential threat to the IP’s reputation.

Stan Lee, meanwhile, cited a different reason: the movie was never intended for release and was instead made on a shoestring so that Eichinger should retain the movie rights nearly a decade after obtaining them. Either way, Marvel Studios’ Avi Arad would go on to confirm at a press junket for Spider-Man in 2002 that he had bought the film from Eichinger for “a couple of million dollars in cash.” He would then order that all copies be burned out of fear that The Fantastic Four brand could be damaged.

While both versions of events can be true, it did not prevent the movie from surfacing as a bootleg several months after its intended release. Now, The Fantastic Four can be viewed in its entirety on YouTube and has garnered a significant cult following over several decades. Taken for what it is, a low-budget cinematic rendition of Marvel’s first family, it remains an enjoyable watch for fans, though Marvel’s Fantastic Four will no doubt be the definitive version committed to the big screen.