Watch the Cast of the Unreleased 'Fantastic Four' Movie Take Their Place in Marvel History

The stars of Roger Corman's unreleased 1994 Fantastic Four film reflect on what might have been while appearing in cameos in Fantastic Four: First Steps. Though the Corman-produced movie has become somewhat of a Hollywood joke, it was also a heartfelt effort by the cast and crew to bring the Marvel Comics heroes to the screen.

As part of Marvel’s tribute to the origins of its first family, the actors from the 1994 film appeared briefly in this year's Fantastic Four: First Steps. A new featurette shows the original cast reminiscing about their time working on the Corman project.

Pressure to Produce Quickly

“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.”

— Jay Underwood, who played Johnny Storm

Legacy and Strengths of the 1994 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].”

— Grant Curtis, MCU producer on First Steps

The reflections highlight the passion behind the 1994 project and affirm its importance despite never officially releasing.

Author’s summary: The unreleased 1994 Fantastic Four film, though low-budget and unfinished, left a lasting impression through its genuine character portrayals and inspired Marvel’s tribute in First Steps.

Gizmodo — 2025-11-07