Michael B. Jordan plays Johnny Storm, aka the Human Torch, in the upcoming Fantastic Four reboot. Since the introduction of the superhero team in the comic books in 1961, Johnny Storm has always been portrayed as a Caucasian with blond hair and blue eyes - so, the casting of a black guy for the role wasn't taken lightly by a huge section of comic book fans. Fuming remarks and trolls on the internet have been the common backlash against the casting choice.
Michael B. Jordan seems to have been badly hurt by such reactions, but eventually he has managed to be strong enough to stick with the role, and strong enough to pen a full response to those who opposed his casting in Fantastic Four! The actor has shared a letter via Entertainment Weekly titled "˜Why I'm Torching the Color Line'.
Here, I'm going to share the highlights from Jordan's letter before moving ahead towards some other hot stuff on Fantastic Four!
Addressing The Allegations Against The Casting Choice"¦
"Turns out this is what they were saying: "A black guy? I don't like it. They must be doing it because Obama's president" and "It's not true to the comic." Or even, "They've destroyed it!""
He Doesn't Ask Anyone To Forget 50 Years Of Comics, But"¦
"But the world is a little more diverse in 2015 than when the Fantastic Four comic first came out in 1961. Plus, if Stan Lee writes an email to my director saying, "You're good. I'm okay with this," who am I to go against that?"
People Should Spot The Message Of The Movie"¦
"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, if people can just allow themselves to see it."
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He Has Taken The Responsibility To Shoulder All Hate"¦
"Sometimes you have to be the person who stands up and says, "I'll be the one to shoulder all this hate. I'll take the brunt for the next couple of generations." I put that responsibility on myself. People are always going to see each other in terms of race, but maybe in the future we won't talk about it as much. Maybe, if I set an example, Hollywood will start considering more people of color in other prominent roles, and maybe we can reach the people who are stuck in the mindset that "it has to be true to the comic book." Or maybe we have to reach past them."
Straightforward Words To The Trollers"¦
"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."
Even though I've shared a good bit from the letter, I would definitely request you to check out the whole thing.
Vaughn Directed Fantastic Four RESHOOTS?
Previously we heard about some awkward stuff that happened on the set of Fantastic Four and the movie had undergone a fair extent of reshoots. Now, Superhero News claims that their sources have informed that…(Continued to Page 3)
(Continued from Page 2)… Josh Trank didn't direct the reshoots, rather it was Matthew Vaughn of Kingsman: The Secret Service fame who assumed the role! The report also suggests that 20th Century Fox had to cancel the 3D release in order to utilize that particular portion of the budget for additional reshoots so that they could repair the damage done to the story by Trank.
However, the Fantastic Four director has declined the validity of the report right away via his social media post. Here's what he has written!
@SuperheroNewsCB Definitely not true. I haven’t even met MV in person, and there were no such test screenings.
"” Josh Trank (@joshuatrank) May 24, 2015
New Banner Reveals - The Thing Is MASSIVE!
We have a new banner of Fantastic Four that offers an almost head-to-toe view of Jamie Bell's Ben Grimm, aka the Thing. The banner doesn't contain any text, but it does say a lot! It makes us realize that the Thing in the upcoming superhero team venture is a REAL BIG THING! Check out the image below (via ComicBookMovie) and don't forget to share your thoughts on all these hot updates on Fantastic Four!
