If you’re searching for the fantastic four 2017 movie, you might be hitting a bit of a Mandela Effect wall. Honestly, I get why. The timeline of Fox’s attempt to make Marvel’s first family "cool" is such a chaotic mess of studio interference, reshoots, and PR disasters that the years all kinda bleed together. But here is the cold, hard reality: There actually wasn't a Fantastic Four movie released in 2017.
You’re likely thinking of the 2015 reboot—often disparagingly called Fant4stic—which was still casting a massive, dark shadow over the film industry by 2017. Or, perhaps, you're remembering the frantic rumors that popped up around 2017 regarding a potential sequel that never actually happened. By the time 2017 rolled around, the franchise was effectively in a coma. It was the year of Logan and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, and Josh Trank’s disastrous attempt at a gritty sci-fi superhero flick was already being used as a cautionary tale in film schools.
Why everyone thinks there was a Fantastic Four 2017 movie
Memory is a fickle thing. Especially when it comes to box office bombs.
The 2015 film was such a monumental disappointment that the conversation about "what happens next" dominated the trades for the next two years. In early 2017, there were still faint whispers that 20th Century Fox might try to salvage the cast—Miles Teller, Kate Mara, Michael B. Jordan, and Jamie Bell—for a follow-up. They had a release date originally carved out on the calendar: June 9, 2017.
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Fox eventually yanked that date. They replaced it with Alien: Covenant or shifted schedules around, but the ghost of that "Fantastic Four 2 sequel" stayed on many movie database sites and fan wikis for way too long. That’s likely why you’re seeing 2017 pop up in your head or your search bar. It’s a phantom limb of a movie.
The fallout that defined the late 2010s
By 2017, the industry had moved on, but the actors were still answering for it. Michael B. Jordan had already jumped ship to Marvel Studios to play Killmonger in Black Panther, which started filming in early 2017. That was basically the final nail in the coffin. You can't really have a Human Torch who is busy being the best villain in the MCU.
Think about the tonal shift that happened in cinema during this gap. In 2015, everyone wanted "dark and gritty." By 2017, the audience wanted color, humor, and heart. The fantastic four 2017 movie didn't exist because it couldn't exist in that climate. The brand was toxic.
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I remember reading an interview where Jamie Bell mentioned he felt "terrible" about the reception. The cast was talented. The director was "the next big thing" after Chronicle. But the chemistry was off, the script was rewritten mid-production, and the third act felt like it was edited by a blender.
What was actually happening behind the scenes in 2017?
While fans were wondering if a fantastic four 2017 movie would surprise-drop or get a reboot announcement, the corporate gears were turning for something much bigger.
- The Disney-Fox Merger: The whispers of Disney buying Fox began to get loud in late 2017. This changed everything.
- Marvel’s Reclamation: Kevin Feige was finally getting his hands on the characters Fox had held since the 90s.
- Noah Hawley's Doctor Doom: Around July 2017, the creator of the Fargo TV series announced he was developing a solo Doctor Doom movie. It sounded brilliant—a political thriller set in Latveria. It never got off the ground because of the merger, but it was the only "Fantastic Four" related news of that year.
The "gritty" mistake we're still talking about
Why does the 2015/2017 era of these characters feel so wrong in hindsight?
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Basically, they tried to turn a comic about a family of explorers into a body-horror movie. It's a fascinating failure. Reed Richards stretching his limbs shouldn't look like a scene from The Fly, yet that’s what we got. By the time 2017 hit, the "grimdark" era of superheroes—spearheaded by Zack Snyder—was facing a massive pivot.
If you go back and watch the 2015 film today, you can see the seams. You can literally tell which scenes were reshot because Kate Mara is wearing a very obvious, very bad blonde wig. The production was so troubled that Josh Trank famously tweeted (then deleted) a day before the release that he had a "fantastic version" of the movie that we’ll never see.
Actionable insights for the curious fan
If you were hoping to find a hidden gem from 2017, I'm sorry to break it to you. It doesn't exist. However, there are things you can do to scratch that itch:
- Watch the 1994 unreleased film: If you want a real trip, find the Roger Corman-produced Fantastic Four. It was made just so the studio could keep the rights and was never intended for release. It has more heart than the 2015 version.
- Read the 2017-2018 Comics: This was a weird time for the team in print, too. They were basically absent from Marvel Comics for a while because of corporate bickering between Disney and Fox. Check out Marvel Two-In-One: The Fate of the Four by Chip Zdarsky. It’s the best "Fantastic Four" story from that specific era.
- Track the 2025/2026 MCU Reboot: Forget the 2017 ghost. Marvel Studios is currently working on the definitive version. Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards is the direction we're headed now.
Stop looking for the fantastic four 2017 movie. It was a placeholder on a calendar that never turned into a reality. Instead, look toward the future of the MCU or dive into the 2005 Chris Evans versions—they’re cheesy, sure, but at least they're fun.