Doctor Doom Actor From 1994 FANTASTIC FOUR Movie Shares His Hope To See Movie Get An Official Release

Doctor Doom Actor From 1994 FANTASTIC FOUR Movie Shares His Hope To See Movie Get An Official Release

The actor who played Doctor Doom, Joseph Culp, has shared his hope to see 1994's Fantastic Four movie finally see the light of day after the low-budget was scrapped shortly after being shot. Check it out!

By JoshWilding - Feb 28, 2024 08:02 AM EST
Filed Under: Fantastic Four

A Fantastic Four movie was released in 2005, with Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer following two years later. In 2015, the franchise was rebooted to disastrous results, and next year will see the release of The Fantastic Four from Marvel Studios. 

However, Marvel's First Family very nearly made their big screen debut back in 1994.

It's previously been reported that the movie only happened because producer Bernd Eichinger hoped to retain the team's rights. With a mere $1 million budget, it was not a good quality production and, based on comments from various insiders (and even Stan Lee), it was never actually meant to see the light of day.

The cast tried and failed to drum up interest in Fantastic Four at their own expense and Eichinger eventually informed director Oley Sassone that his movie wasn't going to be released. 

Eichinger has denied that he only made the movie on the cheap to keep hold of those lucrative rights, but it ended up being shelved until Avi Arad learned of its existence. Concerned it would one day see the light of day and harm Marvel Entertainment's all-important toy sales, he purchased the rights and destroyed it...only for copies to circulate online in the years that followed. 

Many Marvel fans would love to see Fantastic Four get an official release and Doctor Doom actor Joseph Culp recently called for that while commenting on a video exploring the movie's creation. 

"This is awesome. Thank you so much for making this wonderful exposé on the first Fantastic Four," he said. "Your views are spot on and are deeply appreciated. On the 30th anniversary the truth must be told and the film released. Here's to the future my friend. Yours, Doctor Doom."

The cast of the cancelled Fantastic Four movie also included Alex Hyde-White as Reed Richards, Rebecca Staab as Sue Storm, Jay Underwood as Johnny Storm, and Michael Bailey Smith as Ben Grimm.

The Fantastic Four, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, debuted in 1961. The team is comprised of Reed Richards (Mr. Fantastic), Susan Storm (Invisible Woman), Johnny Storm (Human Torch), and Ben Grimm (The Thing). They gained superpowers during a space mission, becoming Marvel's first family of superheroes.

Director Matt Shakman has worked with Avatar: The Way of Water co-writer Josh Friedman, WandaVision's Cam Squires, and MCU vet Eric Pearson on the latest draft of The Fantastic Four's screenplay. The movie is now scheduled to be released in theaters on July 25, 2025.

THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS Casting May Confirm Plans For One Of The Team's Most Iconic Foes
Related:

THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS Casting May Confirm Plans For One Of The Team's Most Iconic Foes

THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS' D23 Brazil Trailer Leaks Online And Now Features Footage From The Movie
Recommended For You:

THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS' D23 Brazil Trailer Leaks Online And Now Features Footage From The Movie

DISCLAIMER: As a user generated site and platform, ComicBookMovie.com is protected under the DMCA (Digital Millenium Copyright Act) and "Safe Harbor" provisions.

This post was submitted by a user who has agreed to our Terms of Service and Community Guidelines. ComicBookMovie.com will disable users who knowingly commit plagiarism, piracy, trademark or copyright infringement. Please CONTACT US for expeditious removal of copyrighted/trademarked content. CLICK HERE to learn more about our copyright and trademark policies.

Note that ComicBookMovie.com, and/or the user who contributed this post, may earn commissions or revenue through clicks or purchases made through any third-party links contained within the content above.

marvel72
marvel72 - 2/28/2024, 8:57 AM
I think the look of Doctor Doom and The Thing were spot on.
TheVandalore
TheVandalore - 2/28/2024, 8:59 AM
I've tried watching the bootleg like 4 or 5 times in my life and get maybe 20 mins in. If it's like remastered, and I could purchase booze, id attempt it.... Almost like a challenge.
Clintthahamster
Clintthahamster - 2/28/2024, 9:47 AM
@TheVandalore - Something we can agree on: There's nothing quite like getting a little lit and enjoying a truly terrible movie with friends.
TheVandalore
TheVandalore - 2/28/2024, 9:52 AM
@ClintThaHamster - we finally agreed we both like big tiddies. Don't go backsliding on me now lol
PC04
PC04 - 2/28/2024, 8:59 AM
Put it on DISNEY+ at this point. It'd make for a good laugh.
noahthegrand
noahthegrand - 2/28/2024, 9:00 AM
I got it on dvd. I almost finished it once while drunk.
Batmangina
Batmangina - 2/28/2024, 9:00 AM
Having a comic con bootleg VHS since the late 90s, Imma vote yes to a special edition Blu Ray with that documentary in it and any other archival shit they've got laying around.

PS: Shot for $1M in the [frick]ing stone age and it's STILL better than the entire 2023 slate of DisMarv shite.
IronMan616
IronMan616 - 2/28/2024, 9:01 AM
Saw a bootleg a long time ago, still a better movie than everything that came after. Shitty effects notwithstanding.
marvel72
marvel72 - 2/28/2024, 9:01 AM
Isn't this on YouTube?
Nomis929
Nomis929 - 2/28/2024, 9:24 AM
@marvel72 - Yes.

Here you go:
MuadDib
MuadDib - 2/28/2024, 9:39 AM
@Nomis929 - considering when it was made, the low budget and the lack of cgi availability back then, it’s really not that bad.

A least Sue looks good in uniform 😶
Nomis929
Nomis929 - 2/28/2024, 9:47 AM
@MuadDib - I thought Dr. Doom look preety good as well, for the most part.

Izaizaiza
Izaizaiza - 2/28/2024, 10:45 AM
@Nomis929 - So, I'm currently wasting my morning watching this, and it's of course not great...but also not terrible? At least the story is right
Nomis929
Nomis929 - 2/28/2024, 12:02 PM
@Izaizaiza - Sure. Just remember this is '94, and it was pretty ambitious for it's time.
Izaizaiza
Izaizaiza - 2/28/2024, 1:02 PM
@Nomis929 - okay, just watched the whole show. Obviously, not great... But some of the actors were clearly getting it there all, and in a lot of ways it is the most faithful to the comic books. If it literally only costs a million dollars to make, it would have definitely been incredibly successful if released
marvel72
marvel72 - 2/28/2024, 4:36 PM
@Nomis929 - Yeah I thought I had seen it somewhere.
Nomis929
Nomis929 - 2/28/2024, 9:23 AM
First bootleg dvd I ever got back in the day.
AnthonyVonGeek
AnthonyVonGeek - 2/28/2024, 9:26 AM
Still hilarious that they copied shots frame by frame from the old Superman cartoon “The Magnetic Telescope” for the Human Torch. That movie did at least have a good voice for Doom unlike the rest of the FF movies.
BobbyDrake
BobbyDrake - 2/28/2024, 9:50 AM
Yes, please give me an official vhs release of this!!!
Spoken
Spoken - 2/28/2024, 11:08 AM
I remember watching on Limewire back in 05 lol.

I will say the beginning and the last act, are the best parts. The entire 2nd act is a complete slog though. I did like it though.
Nightmare
Nightmare - 2/28/2024, 11:38 AM
All things considered...

It's not that bad. Sue, Thing and Doom look good with that limited budget.
micvalpro
micvalpro - 2/28/2024, 11:39 AM
The most important thing they got right what's the heart. I still have my bootleg vis. I would love to see marvel put some money into renting it and adding some updated fx. That would be really cool.
Thing94
Thing94 - 2/28/2024, 12:09 PM
I remember seeing the trailer on the VHS copy of Carnosaur back in the day, I feel like they may have intended this to come out. If you watch the documentary trailers were shown in theaters too. If they intended it NOT to come out, they were really pushing it with trailers!

Buy a copy of Carnosaur on VHS to find out!
dragon316
dragon316 - 2/28/2024, 12:25 PM
Think I bought dvd of this either way don’t think it should most of scenes take place at night can’t make stuff out half time to dark see anything

Please log in to post comments.

Don't have an account?
Please Register.

View Recorder