The movie was essentially a "rights-retention" project. Producer Bernd Eichinger had purchased the film rights in the 1980s for approximately $250,000. To avoid losing these rights back to Marvel, he had to start production by late 1992. With a tiny $1 million budget
To keep the rights, they quickly filmed this low-budget version with no real intention of releasing it. Marvel's Intervention: Fantastic Four 1994 Internet Archive
To understand the film, you must first understand the grime of 1990s licensing rights. Marvel Comics was bankrupt in the early ‘90s, selling off film rights to any character with a pulse. German producer Bernd Eichinger acquired the rights to the Fantastic Four but faced a "use-it-or-lose-it" clause: if a film wasn’t in production by a specific deadline, the rights would revert to Marvel. The Quest for Knowledge
If you search for “Fantastic Four 1994 Internet Archive,” you’ll find one of the most infamous artifacts in superhero movie history: a low-budget, unreleased film produced solely to retain film rights. Practical effects and costume work that reflect mid-’90s
Note: The film is public domain in practice, if not in law. The Internet Archive is a library, not a pirate site. They host this because it is an orphaned film of historical interest.
How does a film that was officially "unreleased" become a cult classic?