The success of the 2005 film Fantastic Four led producers to release a sequel, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, in 2007.  Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Michael Chiklis and Chris Evans reprised their roles as the Fantastic Four.  Laurence Fishburne was also on hand, providing the voice of the Silver Surfer.

The film is set two years after the events of Fantastic Four.  Reed Richards (Gruffudd) and Susan Storm (Alba) are preparing for their wedding, when they are alerted of a silver flying object that enters Earth’s atmosphere, radiating cosmic energy that creates massive molecular fluctuations on the planet.  The government asks Reed to create a sensor to track it, but it’s destroyed anyway when he comes back.  The Human Torch (Evans) realizes that it is a “Silver Surfer,” and the team later discovers that all the planets it visits have all been destroyed.  The Silver Surfer’s energy also brings Dr. Doom (Julian McMahon) back to life, and attempts to get the Surfer’s board as a source of power.

Immediately after the release of Fantastic Four, Tim Story and Mark Frost—director and writer of the first, respectively—were hired to do the sequel.  Don Payne was also brought in to help with the writing.  The final film introduced the Fantasti-car, a bigger role for Alicia Masters (Kerry Washington), and eventually, the Silver Surfer—combining actor Doug Jones, a grey silvery suit enhanced by visual effects, and Laurence Fishburne’s voice.

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer was finally released on June 15, 2007, where it immediately shot up to first place in the box office.  Critics were not so eager, however; the film had mixed reviews, with some calling it recycled from the original, and others saying the sequel is more fun than the original.  The film ultimately grossed $288.3 million worldwide.