The Cringe-Worthy Trailer for the Unreleased ’90s Fantastic Four Movie

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This year, the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) will debut Marvel’s First Family in “The Fantastic Four: First Steps.” From the trailer, it appears that this production will be a high-budget adaptation, maintaining the essence of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s original comics. However, the new trailer seems to echo another “Fantastic Four” movie trailer from three decades ago. It is important to note that the movie was never released. The 1994 “Fantastic Four,” despite being made, has a distinct low-budget feel as demonstrated in its trailer, which can be viewed below. We will then discuss the peculiar circumstances surrounding this film’s production.

Even though it was almost released in 1994, this trailer appears as if it originated from a 1978 drive-in. It’s surprising that such a low-quality film could emerge during the time of and . However, this is due to the fact that the movie was produced without any plans for its release. In the early ’80s, German producer Bernd Eichinger acquired the rights to from Marvel at a minimal cost. At that time, major studios dismissed comic book movies as commercially unviable, even rejecting Spider-Man. With no studio showing interest, the rights remained unused for years. In 1992, the rights were about to expire, so he had to swiftly produce a movie to maintain them.

Eichinger recruited Roger Corman, famously known as the “King of B-Movies,” and a director specializing in music videos named Oley Sassone, to produce a film based on the Fantastic Four‘s origin story and their fight against Doctor Doom. The movie was made with a mere million dollars, an incredibly small budget for such a production back then. Despite its meager beginnings, the cast in full costume graced the cover of Film Threat Magazine, attended conventions, and announced a world premiere. The trailer for this Fantastic Four movie was even shown on VHS tapes accompanying other Corman productions. However, as the release date drew near, Eichinger decided to pull the film, leaving everyone involved in shock. It turned out that Eichinger never intended it for a theatrical release, and only the Saturday morning cartoon version of Fantastic Four made it to screens in 1994.

Eichinger produced the film on a shoestring budget primarily to own the FF property rights. His intention was to create a more expensive and profitable movie later when the time was right. In the 2000s, the success of the initial Spider-Man and X-Men films demonstrated that comic book adaptations could be successful on screen. Consequently, Eichinger collaborated with 20th Century Fox to bring the Tim Story Fantastic Four movie to life in 2005. Although it’s not as well-regarded as other Marvel films today, this film turned out to be a modest box office success. Without question, Eichinger reaped significant financial rewards from this endeavor, making his costly plan a success.

Following the second installment, “Rise of the Silver Surfer,” earned less revenue compared to its predecessor. After Eichinger’s demise in 2011, Fox eventually secured full ownership rights. Later, Disney took over Twentieth Century Fox, giving Marvel Studios control over the property. We long hoped for an official release of the 1994 version, preserving its authentic low-budget charm. Ideally, it could have been included as a bonus feature on the “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” Blu-ray. Although bootlegs of the movie are common, it would be satisfying to see an official high-definition release, especially considering the effort put into it. The cheesy trailer is a joy, but an official HD version would be a nice addition.

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2025-03-19 00:33