Much has been made about the casting of Michael B. Jordan as Johnny Storm in THE FANTASTIC FOUR, let alone the casting of the other three. However, the issue of race has been a big part of the controversy, as the original incarnation of Johnny Storm in the comics is caucasion. The debate has raged in many a forum and comments section since the announcement was made and now we have word from Jordan himself, speaking to Cinefilos (original video below), who brings his perspective on the backlash and how he is dealing with it.
It was expected. You kinda know going into it that people are used to seeing something one way, it's a continuity thing more than anything. People don't like change too much. But annoyed? Eh, you just kinda accept it, it is what it is. You can't make everybody happy. You just gotta accept that and know. I'm an actor, I have to do my job. I'm going to do my job the best I can and the way I've been doing it my entire life, my entire career. I grew up a comic book guy, I read comic books as a kid growing up, and the Fantastic Four/Human Torch is one of my favorite characters so I'm going to give it my everything. I can't wait. I don't really let it bother me at all. I just want to go into it and do the best job I can. We'll see what happens."
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Jordan went on to discuss his feelings on the character of Johnny Storm/The Human Torch and how he will tackle the role, saying:
"The Human Torch is, 'yknow, that's fun. That's going to be a good time…To play a superhero? That's dreams coming true. It's not going to be hard. It's going to be fun to kind of show a side of me that I don't really get to show on screen, to be a little bit lighter, funnier, just more personality. It's going to be fun."
While I respect the canon of the majority of comics properties in their original form, I think there's some wiggle room, especially if you get an actor that can really bring something to the role, regardless of race. Jordan is a talent on the rise and I think it's great that he's getting a role that could help bring his skills to the masses. Any way you slice it, THE FANTASTIC FOUR is probably the MOST fiercely debated (hated?) comic-book films on the horizon and that comes almost completely from casting (minus the usual stones tossed at Fox). Strangely, it's made me more excited for the film, which I was ho-hum on to begin with.
Josh Trank's THE FANTASTIC FOUR hits theaters on June 19, 2015.
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