Fantastic Four: First Steps finally brings Marvel’s first family to the big screen the way they deserve. But this is far from their first cinematic outing. The characters have a notoriously rocky history in film, beginning with a low-budget adaptation produced by Roger Corman’s New Horizons for just $1 million. Commissioned by a German production company, the movie was reportedly never intended for release—it was made solely to retain the rights. This isn’t unheard of—just ask Warren Beatty and his oddball Dick Tracy TV specials.
Eventually, the unreleased film leaked, and once the superhero genre took off, we got proper Fantastic Four movies. Sounds like a happy ending, right? Not quite.
The next two films, though bigger-budgeted, were clearly made to appeal to a teenage demographic and are now seen as very much products of their time. While they performed decently at the box office, many fans were unimpressed. Then came the 2015 reboot from Josh Trank, fresh off the success of Chronicle, which aimed for a darker, more grounded tone—but it flopped hard.
Our own Cody Hamman ranked the first four Fantastic Four movies, but now that the new one is in theaters, we want to hear from you. Is First Steps your favorite? Or do you have a soft spot for one of the earlier versions? Take the poll and let us know!
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