Watch the Cast of the Unreleased 'Fantastic Four' Movie Take Their Place in Marvel History
The cast of Roger Corman's never-released 1994 film reflect on what might have been as they appear in cameos in Fantastic Four: First Steps. Though this Fantastic Four adaptation became somewhat of a Hollywood joke, it was a heartfelt project for the cast and crew who worked to bring the Marvel Comics team to life.
Marvel’s tribute to its first family included inviting the original 1994 cast to cameo in this year’s The Fantastic Four: First Steps. In a new featurette, the actors share memories from their time on the Corman production.
Pressure and Production
Jay Underwood, who portrayed Johnny Storm, recalled the urgency faced by producer Bert Eichinger:
“He was going to lose the rights unless he went into production by a certain date. So he goes to Roger Corman and says, ‘Can you make this movie and make it right now and make it cheap?’ … We put together this million-dollar movie, which for Corman was actually probably a very big budget at the time. But certainly not a budget that you need for a movie like the Fantastic Four.”
Appreciation from the MCU Team
Grant Curtis, producer for First Steps, praised elements of the original film:
“[Corman] did a lot of things right in that movie … One of the things I think they did extremely well was the character relationships. And not every special effect on any movie holds up over time. But those were very real relationships that, when we did our homework and we looked at the movie early on, we took note [of].”
This recognition highlights the enduring foundation laid by the 1994 cast, whose work still resonates despite the film never seeing an official release.
Author’s summary: The unreleased 1994 Fantastic Four film remains a heartfelt effort that influenced Marvel’s tribute, with its cast remembered for authentic character portrayals despite budget and time pressures.