The fictional superhero team Fantastic Four featured in Marvel Comics publication has appeared in four live-action films since its inception. The plots deal with four main characters, known formally as Reed Richards, Susan Storm, Ben Grimm and Johnny Storm, and how they adapt to the superpowers they attain.
Constantin Film bought the film rights for the characters in 1986. A low-budget film was produced in 1992 by New Horizon Studios owned by Roger Corman. In 2004, after Constantin sub-licensed the film rights to 20th Century Fox, a second Fantastic Four film entered production. Fantastic Four was released in 2005 and the sequel Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer was released in 2007. Both films received mixed to negative reviews from critics, yet earned a combined US$619 million worldwide at the box office. Due to 20th Century Fox’s disappointment with the box-office return of Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, a potential third Fantastic Four film and a Silver Surfer spin-off film were canceled.
In 2009, the development for a reboot was announced. Directed by Josh Trank, Fantastic Four was released on August 7, 2015 and received largely negative reviews from both critics and audiences, as well as from Trank himself and became a box office bomb. A sequel to the reboot was scheduled to be released on June 9, 2017, but it was canceled. In March 2019, Marvel Studios regained the film rights to the Fantastic Four and associated characters after the Walt Disney Company acquired the former 21st Century Fox. Jon Watts is currently set to direct a new film featuring the team, set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as part of its Phase Four slate.
After the acquisition, the 20th Century Fox-produced Fantastic Four films were rebranded as “Marvel Legacy” films on Disney+ alongside the studio’s X-Men movies, thus separating them from Marvel Cinematic Universe titles produced by Marvel Studios.
