The Fantastic Four haven’t had a great run at the big screen. Fox’s first Fantastic Four movie was good enough, but then they did Fantastic Four: The Rise of Silver Surfer, which tanked. Then came the Fant4stic reboot in 2015, which was trashed by everyone. Now, the fans are breathing easy as the MCU has been given the reigns for Fantastic Four. But did you know that there were several other plans for Fantastic Four movies which had been canceled in the past? The cancellations happened due to several reasons. Sometimes it was because of the failure of previous Fantastic Four movies, and sometimes it was due to the studio not liking the ideas. Here are 6 more Fantastic Four movies which could have been made, but weren’t:
Peyton Reed’s Fantastic Four
In the past, the Ant-Man franchise director, Peyton Reed worked on a Fantastic Four film for a year. It was before Fox released the first film in 2005. Reed was working on a story where the Fantastic Four would’ve been from the 60s. It would’ve been just like how the Fantastic Four comics made their debut in the 60s. Now, director Reed wishes that he could bring his story of Fantastic Four to the MCU.
Fantastic Four 3
This was the Fantastic Four sequel that never went past the planning stage. The massive failure of Rise of the Silver Surfer didn’t even bring up discussions for a third film. But originally, the plans were to have Djimon Hounsou as the Black Panther in Fantastic Four 3. But the problem was that Marvel owned the rights to the character. Either Puppet Master or Annihilus would’ve been the villain. Franklin Richards may have been introduced. And the romance between Alicia Masters & Ben Grimm would’ve also been a part of the story. But, after Fantastic Four 2, none of the cast members wanted to return.
Fantastic Four, X-Men, Daredevil Crossover
Writer Zack Stentz confirmed that he wrote a mega Fox Marvel crossover film in 2011. Back then, Fox owned X-Men, Daredevil & the Fantastic Four. So, Deadpool, X-Men, Wolverine, Daredevil & Fantastic Four were all supposed to appear in one single film. It would’ve been a Civil War like film. We missed out on an X-Men vs. Fantastic Four battle. Wolverine & Mr. Fantastic were supposed to fight each other. The Bourne Trilogy director Paul Greengrass would’ve directed it. It would’ve been Fox’s answer to The Avengers. But it just didn’t end up happening as Fox went forward with the Fantastic Four reboot and X-Men: Days of Future Past.
Fant4Stic 2
Josh Trank’s Fantastic Four movie turned out to be one of the biggest superhero movie bombs in 2015. Like the Snyder Cut, the issues with the film were because of studio meddling. But because Fant4stic turned out to be so bad, and turned in a massive loss, the plans for its following 2017 sequel were cancelled.
Silver Surfer
First, Fox planned to make a Silver Surfer spinoff in 1998. But because the first Fantastic Four movie took until 2005, Fox decided to add Silver Surfer in the Fantastic Four sequel. Another Silver Surfer film would’ve happened after Fantastic Four 2, but it was cancelled again because Rise of the Silver Surfer was super bad. Then, Brian K. Vaughn was hired to write another Silver Surfer film in 2018, but that film got cancelled right when Disney bought Fox.
Doctor Doom
Back in 2017, Noah Hawley revealed that he’ll be directing a Doctor Doom movie. Even after Disney bought Fox, he told everyone of his meeting with Kevin Feige. Here’s what he told The Hollywood Reporter:
“What was interesting to me originally about the X-Men universe is these are movies that started in a concentration camp. They are clearly concerned with the true nature of human evil. It’s not just some cosmic force bringing about the end of the world. That’s what was always interesting to me here. Let’s explore through this genre the everyday evils we do to each other, the ways we hurt each other and take each other for granted. There are different stories and characters who will bring about other themes. I wrote a script about Doctor Doom, an antihero story I really like, and we’re still talking about making it. I’m trying to get out from under this movie I made and this last season of Legion, and Fargo is coming back up… but for better or worse, these are the stories we want to hear right now. I think you can bury your head in the sand and say, ‘That’s unfortunate for our culture because they’re simplistic.’ Some people say that. I don’t look at it that way. I think they are morality tales on a larger scale, and it’s better to be part of the conversation than pretend the conversation isn’t happening.”
Because we haven’t got any updates since June 2019, we assume that the film was cancelled. Obviously, Marvel has plans for Doctor Doom in the MCU.
Maybe these cancelled films could have been great. Or maybe they would have turned Fantastic Four into a brand that’s unsustainable. Either way, we’re glad that Fox did not go through with these ideas and we’re finally getting to see the Fantastic Four in the MCU under Kevin Feige’s leadership.
Would you have liked to see these Fantastic Four related movies? Tell us in the comments.
