Moviegoers and Marvel Comics fans are likely familiar with the 2005 Fantastic Four film and its 2007 sequel Rise of the Silver Surfer along with the 2015 reboot. While opinions on those three movies are mixed, the fact is that all of them received wide theatrical releases and pulled in millions of dollars in ticket sales (even if some did not necessarily turn a profit). But there is another film featuring that famous four-person superhero team that came out in 1994 that not many people are familiar with. And that very well could be by design because it was allegedly never intended to be released in theaters.
In the 1980s, German producer Bernd Eichinger’s production company Constantin Film acquired the rights to the Fantastic Four when larger studios passed on the property due to budget concerns. However, Constantin faced similar issues and had not produced a film as the December 31, 1992, expiration date on their option approached. Eichinger decided to move forward with a low-budget production and brought B-movie legend Roger Corman onboard to produce a film for $1 million. Production began at the end of the year and continued into 1993 with a shooting schedule of about three weeks.
The movie assembled a cast of C-list actors to play the lead roles, decked out in cheesy (though comics-accurate) costumes and brought to life with bargain-basement special effects. It was given a tentative release window of Labor Day weekend 1993, and trailers ran that year with Corman’s Carnosaur and Little Miss Millions while the cast members were sent out on promotional tours. But the film never made it to theaters as promised, and the cast was told to cease their public relations appearances. It did get a brief exhibition in 1994, but after that, it disappeared entirely.
According to Eichinger, Marvel executive Avi Arad bought up the film because he thought its low-budget production would tarnish the brand. Stan Lee later stated in an interview: “That movie was never supposed to be shown to anybody.” Roger Corman disagreed, claiming there was a contract to release the film and that he had to be bought out since it never hit theaters. So, it is unclear whether Eichinger only proceeded with the film to retain the rights for a later reboot with a bigger budget or if he genuinely intended for audiences to see his low-budget Fantastic Four film. It all depends on which story you believe.
The 1994 movie has since surfaced in the public eye through bootleg releases and has generally been panned as a cheap, throw-together effort that fails to do justice to the famous superhero team. However, it has also developed a cult following over the years, and some consider it a fun superhero romp. In 2015, a documentary chronicling the fate of the film titled Doomed!: The Untold Story of Roger Corman’s The Fantastic Four was released. It is available to stream for free (with ads) on Tubi TV and Pluto TV and is also streaming on Amazon’s Prime Video. The film itself has never received an official release, but you can find it on YouTube from time to time.
Primary Source: Wikipedia
