It was the early 1990’s when I first heard they were making the first live action Fantastic 4 movie. Being a fan of the cartoon, I was excited to see this movie. They started showing the trailer in the theaters. At Comic-Con in San Diego, they started hyping the 1994 release. The actors were even going on publicity tours.
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1994 came and went and a Fantastic 4 live action movie was never released. But in 2005, a high budget version was released. The 2005 version’s budget was $87.5–100 million. Where the 1994 budget was only $1 million. Whatever happened to the 1994 version? Since it was never seen or released, it is thought to be what is called in the industry an "ashcan version."
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In the film and television industries, the term “ashcan copy” is considered to be a low-grade version which is created to preserve a claim to licensed property rights. Other words, they created a version of the comic to purposely throw away. They do this so they can continue having access to the rights. Or have claim to the story. If somebody else tries to create a film with the story, the original has claim to the content. So, fantastic 4 1994 basically became a rough draft. Or a $1 million development version.
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Fans and the people who poured their heart and soul into the 1994 version were brokenhearted. But as the fans of this genre usually do, they do not go quietly into the night. A super fan who had access to the original film secretly released bootleg copies out into the ether. Where it still resides today.
The bootleg’s availability can be found in many different sources. But we were able to find it and watch the full version on YouTube. See full version film below.
The bootleg has been copied and copied. So, the original quality has degraded over time. As low budget and B-rated the film is, I was surprised how much I enjoyed it. It had that quirkiness and bad special effects you would expect for its era. At times the story was hard to follow. I did get a kick out of watching the film though. If you are a fan of the Marvel genre, I believe that you would enjoy seeing this lost version. See more from Colorado Martini
Newer Versions
A new version came out in 2015. It seems like it came and went with little fanfare. It really diverted from the baseline story. Four young outsiders are teleported to an alternate and dangerous universe. Their physical forms are altered. The teleporting and dangerous universe is not the original storyline in the other film version.
A new version of Fantastic 4 is set to be released in 2025. It is unsure if John Krasinski will return as Mr. Fantastic. John Krasinski surprised audiences when he made his unexpected appearance as Mr. Fantastic (Reed Richards) in Marvel Studios Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
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So, if you have a weekend night you are trying to find something to watch. Get a laugh and watch the unreleased version of the Fantastic 4 (1994). See remastered version below.
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