Not everyone is feeling fantastic regarding the recent casting of Michael B. Jordan as Johnny Storm, aka The Human Torch, in the upcoming installment of the Fantastic Four franchise.
Michael B. Jordan fired back at the online trolls who were in an uproar regarding his casting, because he didn’t look right for the part as a black man. The character has blond hair and blue eyes in the comic book. Jordan wrote an op-ed , which was published Friday on Entertainment Weekly’s website.
“Some people may look at my casting as political correctness or an attempt to meet a racial quota, or as part of the year of ‘Black Film.’ Or they could look at it as a creative choice by the director, Josh Trank, who is in an interracial relationship himself—a reflection of what a modern family looks like today.”
The 28-year-old actor added, “This is a family movie about four friends—two of whom are myself and Kate Mara as my adopted sister—who are brought together by a series of unfortunate events to create unity and a team. That’s the message of the movie. To the trolls on the Internet, I want to say: Get your head out of the computer. Go outside and walk around. Look at the people walking next to you. Look at your friends’ friends and who they’re interacting with. And just understand this is the world we live in. It’s okay to like it.”
This has added to our already extreme fondness of Michael B. Jordan who delivered heartwrenching performances in The Wire, Fruitvale Station, and Friday Night Lights. He took a nuanced turn as a recurring character in Parenthood , where he became a fan favorite, and was scary good in Chronicle.
People also need to realize that characters from comic books are constantly revised and revisited all the time. The original Fantastic Four comic book came out in 1961, the world has changed immensely since then.
The character of Nick Fury, the mysterious leader of S.H.I.E.L.D. who plays a role in practically every Marvel movie, was portrayed as a white male for decades, but a generation of movie fans know this character as portrayed by African-American actor, Samuel L. Jackson. There has been little to no backlash against Jackson.
Fantastic Four is set to be released in theaters on August 7, 2015.
[Image Source: Todd Williamson/Invision/AP]