| Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer | |
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 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Tim Story |
| Screenplay by | |
| Story by |
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| Produced by | |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Larry Blanford |
| Edited by |
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| Music by | John Ottman |
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Release dates |
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Running time | 92 minutes[2] |
| Countries | |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $120–130 million[2][3] |
| Box office | $301.9 million[2] |
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer[c] is a 2007superhero film based on theMarvel Comics superhero team theFantastic Four. The sequel to the2005 film, it was directed byTim Story, from a screenplay byDon Payne andMark Frost. The film starsIoan Gruffudd,Jessica Alba,Chris Evans, andMichael Chiklis as the title characters, withJulian McMahon,Kerry Washington,Andre Braugher,Beau Garrett,Doug Jones andLaurence Fishburne in supporting roles. The plot follows the Fantastic Four (andDoctor Doom) as they confront theSilver Surfer to save Earth fromGalactus.
The film was released in the United States on June 15, 2007, to generally mixed reviews and grossed $301.9 million worldwide and was a box-office success, but earned less than its predecessor which grossed $333.5 million worldwide. A third film was planned but ultimately cancelled. The series was rebooted in 2015 with the release ofFantastic Four to poor critical and commercial reception.Marvel Studios eventually reclaimed the film rights of the characters, along with theX-Men andDeadpool, after theacquisition of 21st Century Fox by Disney. Evans, who would portrayCaptain America in theMarvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), reprised his role asJohnny Storm / Human Torch in the 2024 filmDeadpool & Wolverine.
The US government asksReed Richards to track a mysterious, meteor-like object that has entered Earth's atmosphere, which is creating large craters and whose presence is seemingly causing fluctuations in the weather and power outages. Meanwhile, Reed and his fiancée,Susan Storm, who have been preparing for their upcoming wedding, consider ending their activities with the Fantastic Four.
Reed and Susan's wedding ceremony is interrupted by the phenomenon approachesNew York City;Johnny Storm pursues it, discovering it to be a humanoid alien on a flying surfboard - theSilver Surfer. Johnny confronts the Surfer, who overpowers him; he is later examined by Reed, who discovers that his exposure to the Surfer has set Johnny's molecular structure in passiveflux, allowing him to switch super powers with the others through physical contact.
Reed traces the cosmic energy of the Surfer, discovering a series of planets the Surfer visited previously that have all been destroyed, and determining it will strike next inLondon. The Four travel there too late to stop the Surfer creating another crater, which drains theRiver Thames. Meanwhile, the Surfer also passes overLatveria, revivingVictor Von Doom, who then confronts the Surfer in theRussell Glacier; the Surfer defeats Doom, but in doing so restores Doom's human form.
Doom leverages his experience with the Surfer over the US military, who force the Four to work with him. Deducing that the Surfer's board is the source of his power, Reed develops a pulse generator that will separate him from it. They track the Surfer to theBlack Forest, where he informs Susan that he is not the one trying to destroy Earth before the pulse is activated, separating the Surfer from his board.
The weakened Surfer is imprisoned by the military inSiberia and tortured. Susan sneaks into the Surfer's cell, where she learns he is servingGalactus, a giant cosmic entity that feeds on life-bearing planets. His service to Galactus is what prevents his own world from being destroyed, and that the Surfer's board is a homing beacon leading Galactus to Earth. Doom steals the Surfer's board and uses it to escape toChina; the Four free the Surfer and pursue Doom in theFantasticar, confronting him inShanghai, where he impales Sue. With the Surfer powerless, Johnny absorbs the combined powers of the team to battle Doom and, with the assistance ofBen Grimm, defeats him and retrieves the board.
As Galactus approaches Earth, the Surfer regains control of his board and, inspired by Sue's humanity, revives her and vows to end Galactus' destructive path. With help from Johnny, the Surfer flies into the stratosphere and confronts Galactus, where a massive blast of energy engulfs them both. Johnny's second exposure to the Surfer leaves him no longer able to switch powers. Reed and Sue decide they no longer want to leave the Fantastic Four for a normal life and are then married inJapan, before they and Johnny and Ben are summoned to an emergency inVenice. In a mid-credits scene, the lifeless Silver Surfer floats through space, until his eyes open and his board flies back to him.
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WithFantastic Four grossing $330 million worldwide,20th Century Fox hired directorTim Story and screenwriterMark Frost in December 2005 to return for thesequel.[4] Screenwriters Frost andDon Payne were hired to create the screenplay.[5] Payne has said the film is based on "The Galactus Trilogy", as well as comic issues 57–60 in which Doom steals the Surfer's power. Payne has also said the film takes inspiration from theUltimate Marvel limited seriesUltimate Extinction.[6] As of March 2, 2007, Galactus' design was not yet done,[7] and by April 18, until hiringLaurence Fishburne to perform the voice, the filmmakers were unsure of whether the character would speak.[8]Doug Jones was chosen to physically portray the Surfer and supposedly was unaware that he was being dubbed over. Since then, both this film andHellboy remain the only two films where he has been dubbed over in English.[9]
The film includes theFantasticar,[10] a larger role forKerry Washington's characterAlicia Masters, and in June 2006, the Silver Surfer was announced to appear in the sequel as a "villain/hero".[11] The Silver Surfer has been created by combining the performance of actor Doug Jones, a grey-silver suit designed by Jose Fernandez and created by VFX shop Spectral Motion which has then been enhanced by a newCGI system designed byWeta Workshop.
The sequel, whoseworking title wasFantastic Four 2, was officially titledFantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer in August 2006 with filming beginning on August 28 inVancouver and set for a release date of June 15, 2007.[12]Michael Chiklis' prosthetics asThe Thing were also redesigned to allow him to take it off in between takes[13] and for better ventilation.[14]
In August 2006, actorAndre Braugher dropped out of anER supporting role to be cast inRise of the Silver Surfer.[15] Braugher was cast as General Hager, whom director Story described as "an old acquaintance of Reed Richards and one of the major additions to the movie".[16] DirectorTim Story said the script originally containedNick Fury, but the role eventually became that of General Hager, as having Nick Fury would have forcedFox to purchase that character's rights, also Marvel's refusal to license the character; some of Hager's lines in the film originate from Nick Fury inUltimate Extinction.[17][18][19][20] In September, Jones was confirmed to portray the Silver Surfer in addition toJulian McMahon reprising his role as Doctor Doom.[21]The Baxter Building was also redesigned.[6]
During filming the scene where Sue shows emotions, Story asked Alba to cry pretty as he thought it looked "too real" and "too painful", he also told her that they could CGI her tears.[22]
Theteaser trailer was initially exclusively attached toNight at the Museum. It was released to the general public online on December 26, 2006, on the film's official website. The theatrical trailer was scheduled to appear during the filmDisturbia on April 13, 2007, but errors occurred andTim Story announced that it would be released withSpider-Man 3 on May 4, 2007. The theatrical trailer was finally released online on April 30, 2007, on Apple Trailer's website.[23]20th Century Fox launched an outdoor advertising campaign at the end of February.[24] The cast also made an appearance at the Coca-Cola 600 Nextel Cup NASCAR race in Charlotte over Memorial Day weekend.[25]
In late May 2007, 20th Century Fox struck a deal with theFranklin Mint to promote the movie by altering 40,000 U.S. quarters and releasing them into circulation.[26] All of the altered quarters were minted in 2005 and honor the state of California as part of the50 State Quarters program created by theU.S. Mint. The altered quarters feature the Silver Surfer on the reverse along with a URL to the movie's official website. Once the U.S. Mint became aware of the promotion, it notified the studio and the Franklin Mint that it was breaking the law by turning government-issued currency into private advertising. The federal mint did not indicate whether a penalty would be effected.[26]
The film was released October 2, 2007 on DVD[27] andBlu-ray. Also included in the release is a 2 movie collection box set with the first film.[28]
On its opening weekend, the film was the highest-grossing movie at the U.S. box office, reaching approximately $58 million,[29] $2 million more than its predecessor.[30] By its second weekend, the film suffered a 66% drop and a 54% drop in its third weekend.[29] The film grossed $301.9 million worldwide, including a $131.9 million gross in the United States and in Canada.[2] The budget was $120–130 million.[2][3]
Onreview aggregatorRotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 37% based on 171 reviews, with an average rating of 4.8/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "While an improvement on its predecessor,Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer is nevertheless a juvenile, simplistic picture that has little benefit beyond its special effects."[31] OnMetacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 45 out of 100, based on 33 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[32] Audiences polled byCinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale,[33] the same grade as its predecessor.
The New York Times critic Manohla Dargis called the film an "amalgam of recycled ideas, dead air, dumb quips, casual sexism and pseudoscientific mumbo jumbo".[34] Joe Morgenstern ofThe Wall Street Journal said the film was "more fun than in the original" but "fails to sustain its modest running time of 87 minutes."[35]James Berardinelli of ReelViews.com called the film "so lackluster it makesSpider-Man 3 feel like a masterpiece by comparison".[36]
Kevin Maher ofThe Times liked the film's light tone saying "the film is everything you’d expect from a movie that began in the pages of a 1960s comic book – garish, giddy, emotionally simplistic, boldly idiotic and mercifully short".[37]New York Daily News liked the movie: "It's almost a surprise that the sequel is actually better — much better — than the original."[38]
Rise of the Silver Surfer was nominated for fifteen awards, winning two. The film won the 2008 Golden Trailer Award for "Best Teaser Poster", against competition fromSaw IV, andQuantum of Solace, among others.[39] At the 2008Kids' Choice Awards,Jessica Alba won for "Favorite Female Movie Star", overKeira Knightley ofPirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, andKirsten Dunst ofSpider-Man 3.[40]Rise of the Silver Surfer was nominated for five additional Kids' Choice awards.[41]
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer lost toCloverfield for the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Films' 2008 Best Science Fiction Film award, just as it lost in the "Best Summer Movie You Haven't Seen Yet" category, presented by theMTV Movie Awards toTransformers. TheUnited Kingdom'sNational Movie Awards, additionally, selectedHarry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix overRise of the Silver Surfer in its 2007 "Best Family" category. The film was nominated in eight categories during theTeen Choice Awards ceremonies of 2007, but won no award.
The main four cast originally signed a three-movie deal,[42] with Fox Studios and Julian McMahon also signed for a third film.[43][44] Michael Chiklis was told Ben Grimm's relationship with Alicia Masters would have had a greater focus in a third film[45] and Jessica Alba expressed interest in introducingFranklin Richards,[46] while Beau Garrett wished to return as Nova.[47] Tim Story said he was interested in directing a third and fourth film[48] and writer Don Payne stated while he had not discussed a sequel with the studio, he was interested in working with more Fantastic Four characters saying "I’ve always loved theInhumans, theSkrulls, thePuppet Master, andAnnihilus and theNegative Zone".[49] In May 2007, Story said he wantedDjimon Hounsou to playBlack Panther.[50] AsFantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer performed less at the box office than the first film, 20th Century Fox was unsure of the series' future, and no script was in development.[51] In March 2008, Chris Evans revealed, "I'm pretty sure we won’t do another one. I’m assuming that one is a closed book."[52]
In August 2009, Fox announced plans to reboot theFantastic Four film franchise, withMichael Green and Jeremy Slater writing,Seth Grahame-Smith polishing the film's script, andAkiva Goldsman andMatthew Vaughn producing.[53] After the release of 2012'sChronicle,Josh Trank was linked to the reboot, and in mid July 2012, he was officially announced to be director.[54] Filming started mid September 2013.[55][56] As it is produced by Fox, the film is independent from theMarvel Cinematic Universe.[57][58]Fantastic Four was released on August 7, 2015.[59] The film experienced a worse critical reception than the original films andfailed at the box office, leading to the cancellation of a sequel planned for a 2017 release.
In 2019, afterDisney successfully acquired Fox, the film rights of the Fantastic Four were reverted toMarvel Studios, with plans to integrate the characters, along with theX-Men andDeadpool, into theMarvel Cinematic Universe.Jon Watts was originally attached to direct, but later stepped down after expressing his desire to take a "break" from superhero films.[60]The Fantastic Four: First Steps was released in the United States on July 25, 2025, as the first film ofPhase Six of the MCU. The cast includesPedro Pascal as Reed Richards,Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm,Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm andEbon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm.[61]
John Krasinski portrayed an alternate version of Reed Richards in the Marvel Cinematic Universe filmDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022).
In 2024, Chris Evans reprised his role as Johnny Storm in the Marvel Cinematic Universe filmDeadpool & Wolverine.[62]
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