8 Marvel Movies No One Remembers
Dan is an expert contributor to ComiConverse. His interests mainly lie in video games, but he has previously written articles on film and tv. He can be found on Twitter @dangoad
Fantastic Four (1994)
Credit: Constantin Film
Following the theme of low budgets, the 1994 version of Fantastic Four had a ridiculously small one, coming in at $1 million. In fact the film was only made so that Constantin Film could hang on to the rights. They had acquired them in 1986 for $250,000, an amount that seemed reasonable then. But following 1989's Batman and the renewed interest in comic movies, Marvel were hoping to get the rights back to sell them at a higher price. Constantin Film began production on the movie 28th December 1992, three days before the rights were due to revert back to Marvel.
Strangely, we've had two FF4 adaptations since and this remains the most faithful to the comics by some distance. The backstory of both the Fantastic Four and Doctor Doom is virtually spot on, minus a few outdated Cold War references. Even Sue Storm's hair is true to her original comic look. Of course the budget holds things back considerably. We don't see a fully flamed Human Torch until the final scene, but naturally we see (or rather, don't see) a lot of Sue Storm's invisibility. And budgetary concerns also don't excuse a bad script and acting.
Despite plans for a World Premiere the film was never released, fuelling speculation that Constantin Film had never intended it to see the light of day. Whatever the truth, the gambit worked as they still hold the rights today and produced all three of the big screen adaptations. Whilst never officially released, the whole film is available on YouTube.