Advertisement

'Fantastic Four' star Michael B. Jordan addresses Human Torch race rancor

By Karen Butler
Actor Michael B. Jordan. Photo by David Becker/UPI
Actor Michael B. Jordan. Photo by David Becker/UPI | License Photo

LOS ANGELES, May 23 (UPI) -- Michael B. Jordan says he is aware of the backlash sparked by his casting as Johnny Storm/Human Torch in the Fantastic Four franchise re-boot, but he isn't letting the criticism irk him anymore.

"You're not supposed to go on the Internet when you're cast as a superhero. But after taking on Johnny Storm in Fantastic Four -- a character originally written with blond hair and blue eyes -- I wanted to check the pulse out there. I didn't want to be ignorant about what people were saying. 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!'" Jordan wrote in an essay for Entertainment Weekly.

Advertisement

"It used to bother me, but it doesn't anymore. I can see everybody's perspective, and I know I can't ask the audience to forget 50 years of comic books. 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 OK with this,' who am I to go against that?" Jordan continued. "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 OK to like it."

Advertisement

Directed by Josh Trank, the family movie will co-star Kate Mara, Miles Teller and Jamie Bell. It is set for theatrical release Aug. 7.

Latest Headlines