A Silver Surfer solo movie was originally intended to serve as a spinoff to Fox’s second Fantastic Four film. In 2007’s Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, the titular antagonist was brought to life by Duncan Jones and the voice of Lawrence Fishburne. Despite the character’s vast importance in Marvel Comics, Rise of the Silver Surfer unfortunately marked his first and last live-action appearance.

Despite being an opponent of the team for much of the film, Silver Surfer – much like his comic counterpart – eventually rebelled against Galactus and helped them save the planet. He was seemingly killed in the final battle, but a mid-credits scene confirmed his survival and in turn set up his return in a future installment. Silver Surfer developing a change of heart at the end of the movie indicated that he would eventually take the same course as the character from the source material. In the comics, Silver Surfer started out as a minion of Galactus in the Fantastic Four comic and evolved into a hero who headlined his own title.

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At one point, giving Silver Surfer his own project was indeed the plan for Fox’s Fantastic Four franchise. Before Rise of the Silver Surfer was released, Fox tapped Marvel Comics writer and Hollywood screenwriter J. Michael Straczynski to write a script for a Silver Surfer spinoff. Based on comments from Straczynski, it appears that Silver Surfer would have shed light on how Norrin Radd became the Herald of Galactus in the first place. Reportedly, it would have leaned into much darker territory than the two preceding Fantastic Four movies. However, Rise of the Silver Surfer’s disappointing release prevented it from ever seeing the light of day [via Cinema Blend].

Jessica Alba in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007)

Development on the film didn’t get far at all and a director was never even hired. By 2008, Silver Surfer’s chances of becoming a reality were already in doubt. In the eyes of the studio, Rise of the Silver Surfer didn’t do well enough to warrant a spinoff for the hero. Against a budget of $130 million, the Fantastic Four sequel pulled in only $300 million at the worldwide box office. Not only that, but Straczynski said in multiple interviews that while the movie wasn’t exactly a box office failure, it wasn’t the success that it needed to be for Fox to move forward with it. From the beginning, Rise of the Silver Surfer had to be a hit for the spinoff to be a priority for Fox, and that’s ultimately what stood in the way.

In the end, Fox’s first Fantastic Four franchise came to a close with the canceled spinoff. Neither Silver Surfer nor a third movie featuring the same iteration of Marvel’s First Family ever came to fruition. Fantastic Four was since revived at Fox (albeit not in a successful fashion), and will be rebooted once more with Marvel Studios and Disney, who now control the rights to the characters. Through them, the Sentinel of the Spaceways has an opportunity to return to the big screen alongside the Fantastic Four at some point in the future.

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