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And hence the new one. We're talking about the same studio that decided Galactus should be a cloud taking the franchise for a new spin because of the possibility that at some point in the future they might make another reboot that doesn't suck. Of course, they won't openly admit it -- just like Marvel themselves won't admit that their sudden cancellation of the 53-year-old Fantastic Four comic, right before the new movie comes out, is awfully convenient.

The 1994 Version:

The original movie is better than the new ones even at being a shameless cash grab. Back in the '90s, the Fantastic Four movie rights belonged to Constantin Film but were set to expire at the end of 1992, at which time they would return to Marvel. Unwilling to let that happen, and without Fox's deep pockets, Constantin decided to bring in B-movie legend (and accidental creator of modern Hollywood) Roger Corman to produce a movie extremely on the cheap. And that he did.

Constantin Film

"The Human Torch guy is still getting skin grafts."

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However, all they had to do to keep the rights was make a movie, not release it, so they didn't bother with that second part. According to Stan Lee, the cast and crew was not informed that the film "was never supposed to be seen by any living human beings" -- so be warned that if you ever find a bootleg copy on VHS, a Japanese girl might crawl out of your TV in seven days and kill you.