The Fantastic Four actor Joseph Culp, who portrayed Victor Von Doom in the low-budget superhero movie, has called for the release of the shelved 1994 movie.
YouTuber GodzillaMendoza recently posted a video about the unreleased movie to his channel that discusses how the cast was tricked into making The Fantastic Four. At the time, German producer Bernd Eichinger was about to lose the film rights to Marvel‘s First Family, prompting him to team with B-movie specialist Roger Corman on a low-budget adaptation.
In addition to Culp as Doctor Doom, The Fantastic Four starred Alex Hyde-White as Mister Fantastic, Rebecca Staab as Invisible Woman, Jay Underwood as Human Torch, Carl Ciarfalio as The Thing, and Kat Green as Alicia Masters.
However, although The Fantastic Four was being marketed with a 1993 release window, the superhero movie was never released, leading many to speculate that Eichinger made the movie solely to retain the rights to the Marvel characters. Stan Lee later confirmed in 2005 that was indeed the case and that Eichinger never bothered to inform the cast or crew of this decision.
Joseph Culp wants The Fantastic Four released
After GodzillaMendoza published the YouTube video, he notified his followers on Twitter that Culp had left a comment, which read, “This is awesome. Thank you so much for making this wonderful expose on the first Fantastic Four! Your views are spot on and are deeply appreciated.” The actor went on to state that, after 30 years, “the truth must be told and the film released,” ending the comment with, “Yours, Doctor Doom.”
Although 1994’s The Fantastic Four has never been officially released, bootleg recordings of the movie are available to watch on YouTube and Dailymotion. Marvel fans can also watch the 2015 documentary, Doomed!: The Untold Story of Roger Corman’s The Fantastic Four, which features interviews with Corman and the cast about their time making the superhero movie.
Marvel Studios announces new Fantastic Four movie
At the time of writing, Marvel Studios has not responded to Culp’s call to release the 1994 movie. The studio is currently busy prepping for the start of production on its own Fantastic Four adaptation, which will star Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Human Torch, and The Thing, respectively. No actor for Doctor Doom has been announced yet.
All officially released Fantastic Four movies and shows can be streamed on Disney+, while Marvel Studios’ The Fantastic Four is scheduled to open in theaters on July 25, 2025.
