| Fantastic Four | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Tim Story |
| Written by | |
| Based on | |
| Produced by | |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Oliver Wood |
| Edited by | William Hoy |
| Music by | John Ottman |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by |
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Release date |
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Running time | 106 minutes[4] |
| Countries | |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $87.5—100 million[3][5] |
| Box office | $333.5 million[3] |
Fantastic Four (sometimes stylized asFantastic 4) is a 2005superhero film based on theMarvel Comicssuperhero team created byStan Lee andJack Kirby. It was directed byTim Story and written byMark Frost andMichael France. The film starsIoan Gruffudd,Jessica Alba,Chris Evans,Michael Chiklis,Julian McMahon, andKerry Washington. The film follows the origins of the titular team as they learn to come to terms with their newfound abilities following their exposure to cosmic rays.
This was the second live-actionFantastic Four film to be filmed. A previous attempt, titledThe Fantastic Four, was aB movie produced byRoger Corman that ultimately went unreleased.Fantastic Four was released in the United States on July 8, 2005. The film received generally negative reviews from critics (though Evans and Chiklis's performances were praised), but has gone through some re-evaluation over the years after its release.[6] The film grossed $333.5 million worldwide and was a box office success. A sequel,Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, was released in 2007.A reboot was released in 2015, whileanother, set in theMarvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), was released in 2025. Evans, who would portrayCaptain America in theMarvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), later reprised his role asJohnny Storm / Human Torch in the MCU filmDeadpool & Wolverine (2024).
Dr. Reed Richards, along with his friend,Ben Grimm, convincesDr. Victor Von Doom, CEO of Von Doom Industries, to allow him access to hisspace station to test the effects of exposure of clouds of cosmic energy on biological samples. Victor agrees and recruits his chief genetics researcher (and Reed's ex-girlfriend)Susan Storm and her reckless brotherJohnny Storm.
They arrive in space to study the cosmic clouds, but the clouds arrive ahead of schedule. Reed, Susan, and Johnny leave the shielded station to rescue Ben, out on a space walk to place the samples, while Victor closes the shields behind them to keep himself protected. The storm breaks through the station and strikes the four. They return home but soon begin to develop strange powers. Reed is able to stretch like rubber, Susan can become invisible and create force fields, Johnny can engulf himself in fire, and Ben is transformed into a large, rock-based creature with superhuman strength and durability. Victor meanwhile faces a backlash from his stockholders due to the publicity from the failed mission.
On theBrooklyn Bridge, Ben accidentally causes a traffic pile-up while stopping a man from committing suicide. The four use their various powers to contain the damage and save lives. While the public cheers them for their efforts, Ben's fiancée arrives to silently split their engagement, unable to accept him for his condition. Reed vows to a heartbroken Ben to reverse the effects. The media dubs them "The Fantastic Four," and Victor exploits the news story to his stockholders, but they decide to pull out of Von Doom Industries. The four move into Reed's lab in theBaxter Building to study their abilities and work on finding a cure. Victor offers his support in their efforts but blames Reed for the mission's failure.
Reed plans to construct a machine to re-create the storm and reverse their conditions. However, Johnny refuses to cooperate, insisting they should just embrace their powers. Meanwhile, Victor, having also been affected by the storm due to the shields' malfunctioning, begins mutating into organic metal that is able to produce electricity, and begins plotting to use his new powers to take his revenge.
Victor drives a wedge between Ben and Reed, resulting in Ben walking out in a rage. This motivates Reed to attempt the machine on himself, but he cannot generate enough power to push the storm to critical mass. Victor hears this and brings Ben to the lab. Ben is placed in the machine and Victor uses his abilities to produce the electricity needed to power it, turning Ben back to normal and accelerating Victor's condition, causing much of his body to turn to metal. Victor knocks the human Ben unconscious and kidnaps Reed.
Victor, now calling himself "Doom," tortures Reed using a super-cooling unit and fires a heat-seeking missile at the Baxter Building to kill Johnny. He flies through the city to evade it, lighting a garbage barge on fire to trick it. Sue rushes to free Reed and battles Doom but is outmatched. Ben arrives to help, transformed into The Thing again by reusing the machine. The battle spills into the streets, and the four assemble to battle Doom. Johnny and Sue combine their powers to wrap Doom in an inferno of intense flames, and Ben and Reed douse him with cold water, inducingthermal shock and freezing Doom in place.
In anepilogue, Ben tells Reed to forget about his experiment with the machine, as he has accepted his condition through his relationship withAlicia Masters, a blindartist. The team decides to embrace their roles as superheroes, and Reed proposes to Sue. Meanwhile, a frozen Doom is transported back to his homeland ofLatveria.
As in almost all of the previous Marvel Comics-based films,Fantastic Four co-creator Stan Lee makes acameo appearance, this time as Willie Lumpkin, thepostal worker who greets the team on their way to theBaxter Buildingelevator.[7]Hugh Jackman reprises his role asJames Howlett / Logan / Wolverine from theX-Men film series in a scene in which Reed Richards changes his face to resemble Jackman's portrayal of Wolverine in an attempt to woo Susan Storm; the scene was deleted from the theatrical cut ofFantastic Four and was restored in the "Extended Cut" of the film. Canadian broadcastersTerry David Mulligan andBen Mulroney, and American broadcasterLauren Sánchez make cameos as reporters.[8] Cameos during theX Games scenes include professionalfreestyle motocross ridersKenny Bartram andBrian Deegan, and reporterJamie Little. David Parker andPascale Hutton (the latter only appears in the extended version of the film) appeared as Ernie and Nightclub Girlfriend, respectively
In 1983, German producerBernd Eichinger met withStan Lee at his home inLos Angeles to explore obtaining an option for a movie based on theFantastic Four.[9] The option was not available until three years later, when Eichinger'sConstantin Film company obtained it fromMarvel Comics for a price the producer called "not enormous", and which has been estimated to be $250,000.[10]Warner Bros. andColumbia Pictures showed interest, but were cautious of Eichinger's $40–45 million budget.[10][11] With the option scheduled to expire on December 31, 1992, Eichinger asked Marvel for an extension. With none forthcoming, Eichinger planned to retain his option by producing a low-budgetFantastic Four film, reasoning, he said in 2005, "They didn't say I had to make a big movie."[10] In 1992, he approachedB-movie director and producerRoger Corman on the idea of producing the film on a $5 million budget in order to keep the rights,[11] which he eventually decided to bring down to $1 million.[10] In 1994, the adaptation, titledThe Fantastic Four had itstrailer released to cinemas, and its cast and director went on a promotional tour, however the film was not officially released. The film was accused of being anashcan copy, meaning it was only made to keep the license.[12] Lee and Eichinger stated that the actors had no idea of the situation, instead believing they were creating a proper release.[13] Marvel Comics, along withAvi Arad and close friendRalph Winter, paid in exchange for the film's negative, so20th Century Fox could go ahead with the big-budget adaptation,[citation needed] as well as a possible spin-off film starring theSilver Surfer for summer 1998.[14]
Fox hiredChris Columbus to write and directFantastic Four in 1995.[15] He developed a screenplay withMichael France, but decided to step down as director and focus on producingFantastic Four under his1492 Pictures company. In 2025, he revealed he was actually fired from the project after telling the executives to make the movie using conceptual art based onJack Kirby and Marvel's Silver Age.[16]Peter Segal was hired to direct in April 1997,[14] and was replaced bySam Weisman by the end of the year.[17] Fox brought inSam Hamm to rewrite the script in April 1998[18] in an attempt to lower the $165 million projected budget.[14] In February 1999, with development taking longer than expected, Eichinger and Fox signed a deal with Marvel to extend the control of the film rights for another two years, with a summer 2001 release planned,[19] and hiringRaja Gosnell to direct.[20] However, Gosnell decided to doScooby-Doo (2002) instead and dropped out in October 2000.[21]
In April 2001,Peyton Reed signed on to directFantastic Four,[22] andMark Frost was brought on board for another rewrite. Reed departed the project in July 2003,[23] explaining in 2015, "I developed it for the better part of a year with three different sets of writers. But it became clear after a while that Fox had a very different movie in mind and they were also chasing a release date ... so we ended up parting company."[24] Reed's version was described as being influenced byA Hard Day's Night (1964).[25] Reed would later reuse his ideas for the film for theMarvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) filmAnt-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023).[26]Mads Mikkelsen auditioned forReed Richards / Mr. Fantastic,[27] butIoan Gruffudd was cast instead; he recalled his audition as "humiliating".[28]Andrew Walker auditioned for the role of Johnny Storm, which eventually went to Chris Evans.[29] Other actors joined the film;Jessica Alba asSue Storm / Invisible Woman,Chris Evans asJohnny Storm / Human Torch,Michael Chiklis asBen Grimm / The Thing (who was portrayed entirely through practical effects rather than CGI) andJulian McMahon asDr. Victor Von Doom.[30]Sean Astin was one of the candidates to direct the movie,[31] his reasoning for wanting to direct it, despite never having directed a feature before and not being familiar with the comics, was that he wanted to step up in filmmaking and felt that doing aFantastic Four film would allow him to leave a mark. Despite not getting the job, Tom Rothman was impressed with his determination and hoped to work with him on a future project.[32][33]Robert Downey Jr. was initially considered for the role of Doom;[34] he would later be cast as the character in the MCU where he appeared inThe Fantastic Four: First Steps in July 2025.[35][36] Astin wanted to castChristina Aguilera and Michael Chiklis to portray Sue Storm and The Thing respectively, while he approachedCameron Diaz for Sue, but she declined as she did not want to wear superhero makeup.[31][32][37][38]
Tim Story was signed to direct in April 2004, after Fox was impressed with his early cut ofTaxi (2004) and him being a fan of the comics.[39][40][41][42]Simon Kinberg wrote uncredited drafts of the script.[43] After seeingThe Incredibles (2004), Story decided to make significant script changes and add more special effects to avoid similarities.[44]
Theteaser trailer was shown at screenings ofElektra, debuting on January 14, 2005.[45] A new trailer was released on May 19, 2005, in front ofStar Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith.[46] The Americanpremiere ofFantastic Four was moved from July 1, 2005, to the week of July 8 to avoid competition withSteven Spielberg's filmWar of the Worlds, during its first week.[47]Fantastic Four opened in 3,602 movie theaters in the United States, and increased to 3,619 theaters in the following week.[48]
Fantastic Four finished at the top position at the box office with $56.1 million from 3,602 cinemas over its first weekend.[49] By the end of 2005,Fantastic Four had accumulated a gross income of $330.6 million, with $154.7 million of this coming in the United States. It was the highest-grossing superhero movie by anAfrican-American director untilRyan Coogler'sBlack Panther (2018).[3]
On thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, 28% of 213 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 4.6/10. The website's consensus reads: "Marred by goofy attempts at wit, subpar acting, and bland storytelling,Fantastic Four is a mediocre attempt to bring Marvel's oldest hero team to the big screen."[50]Metacritic, which uses aweighted average, assigned the film a score of 40 out of 100, based on 35 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[51] Audiences polled byCinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.[52]
Stephen Hunter ofThe Washington Post noted that it was "a movie more based on character than plot" and "mostly an origins tale". He called it "a funky, fun film version of the famous Marvel superhero[s]" but was critical of the last twenty minutes.[53]Joe Leydon ofVariety called the film "unpretentious" but also "wildly uneven".[54]
James Berardinelli ofReelViews, having been a fan of the comics, found the film disappointing writing, "This movie is more like a B-grade comic book adaptation than the A-list production it should have been." Berardinelli praised Chiklis for a standout performance despite being buried in makeup, summarizing: "Fantastic Four has its good points—there are individual scenes that work" and said there are "moments of surprise and excitement ... but the tempo's off, beats are missed, and the production ends up sounding out-of-tune."[55]Entertainment Weekly'sOwen Gleiberman described the film as "like something left over from the '60s" and compared it unfavorably to other contemporary films such asSpider-Man 2,Batman Begins, andThe Incredibles.[56]
The film has since earned a more positive reevaluation after the failure of the 2015 reboot film.[57][58][59][6]
At theSaturn Awards,Fantastic Four was nominated for Best Science Fiction Film, but lost the trophy toStar Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005).[60] It was given two nominations at the2006 MTV Movie Awards including Best Hero forJessica Alba (she lost toChristian Bale forBatman Begins) and Best On-Screen Team for Alba,Michael Chiklis,Chris Evans andIoan Gruffudd (they lost toVince Vaughn andOwen Wilson forWedding Crashers). Alba was nominated for aRazzie Award for Worst Actress for her performances in both this film andInto the Blue, but lost toJenny McCarthy forDirty Love.[61] The film won theStinker Award for Worst Screenplay for a Film Grossing Over $100M.[62]
The main version ofFantastic Four onVHS andDVD was released on December 6, 2005. This version had some changes from the one shown in cinemas. Some of these changes included the following:
The movie was also released onVHS the same day. It was later released onBlu-ray on November 14, 2006.[64]
In June 2007, an extended cut DVD ofFantastic Four was released. It incorporated about 20 minutes of deleted scenes, and also included a preview of the sequel,Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. The DVD expanded on The Thing's relationships withAlicia Masters, Doom's scheming to break up the group, and the Human Torch's womanizing backfiring on him.[63]
Fantastic Four received a novelization written by popular Marvel Comics writerPeter David, which included several scenes not present in the movie.[65]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| IGN | 6.9/10[66] |
| Allmusic |   [67] |
Fantastic 4: The Album is the officialsoundtrack to the movieFantastic Four. The soundtrack features twosupergroups that were formed specifically for the album: Loser (formerMarilyn Manson guitarist/writerJohn 5) and T.F.F. (featuringBrody Dalle ofThe Distillers, Chris Cester ofJet, Nick Zinner ofThe Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and Dolf de Datsun of theDatsuns).[68][69]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Come On, Come In" (Velvet Revolver) |
| 3:58 | |
| 2. | "Error Operator" (Taking Back Sunday) | Taking Back Sunday | Ariel Rechtshaid | 3:09 |
| 3. | "Relax" (Chingy) | K1 Mil | 3:31 | |
| 4. | "What Ever Happened to the Heroes" (Joss Stone) | Beau Dozier | 3:56 | |
| 5. | "Waiting (Save Your Life)" (Omnisoul) | Derek A.E. Fuhrmann | Gregg Wattenberg | 4:02 |
| 6. | "Always Come Back to You" (Ryan Cabrera) |
| Guy Chambers | 3:33 |
| 7. | "Everything Burns" (Ben Moody featuringAnastacia) | Ben Moody |
| 3:41 |
| 8. | "New World Symphony" (Miri Ben-Ari featuringPharoahe Monch) |
|
| 4:01 |
| 9. | "Die for You (Fantastic Four Mix)" (Megan McCauley) |
| Bob Marlette | 3:49 |
| 10. | "Noots" (Sum 41) | Greig Nori | 3:49 | |
| 11. | "Surrender" (Simple Plan) | Rick Nielsen | Simple Plan | 2:58 |
| 12. | "I'll Take You Down" (T.F.F) |
| Josh Deutsch | 2:50 |
| 13. | "On Fire" (Lloyd Banks) |
|
| 3:07 |
| 14. | "Reverie" (Megan McCauley) |
|
| 3:55 |
| 15. | "Goodbye to You" (Breaking Point) |
| Ben Schigel | 3:51 |
| 16. | "Shed My Skin" (Alter Bridge) | Mark Tremonti |
| 5:08 |
| 17. | "In Due Time" (Submersed) |
| Don Gilmore | 4:04 |
| 18. | "Disposable Sunshine" (Loser) | Bob Marlette | 3:27 | |
| 19. | "Now You Know" (Miss Eighty 6 featuring Classic) |
|
| 3:03 |
| 20. | "Kirikirimai (Fantastic Four Remix)" (Orange Range) | Orange Range | Josh Deutsch | 3:14 |
An album ofJohn Ottman's score was released byVarèse Sarabande on July 12, 2005.
Additionally,Gabin's song "Bang Bang to the Rock n' Roll" was featured in the film, but not used on the soundtrack.
A sequel,Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, was released onJune 15, 2007, with director Tim Story and the cast returning to the fold. The film had a slightly improved critical reception but lower financial gross than its predecessor.
When plans for a third film fell through, 20th Century Fox rebooted the series with 2015'sFantastic Four. 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 (MCU).Jon Watts was originally attached to direct, but later stepped down after expressing his desire to take a "break" from superhero films.[70]The Fantastic Four: First Steps was released in the United States on July 25, 2025, as the second 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.[71]
An alternate universe version of Reed Richards portrayed byJohn Krasinski appears in the MCU filmDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022).
Chris Evans reprised his role as Johnny Storm in the MCU filmDeadpool & Wolverine (2024).[72]
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