Michael B. Jordan Responds to Human Torch Rumors

Rumors previously hit the web about Chronicle star Michael B. Jordan being considered for director Josh Trank's Fantastic Four reboot. While many could see Jordan playing Johnny Storm, there was naturally some debate seeing as... well, Johnny's white and he isn't. USA Today asked the actor how he felt about the rumors and he clearly doesn't think the color of Johnny's skin is one of the character's defining traits.

"Things change and time goes on, it's 2013 right now," Jordan says of the Torch talk. "The characteristics of the Human Torch are his name is Johnny Storm, he's charismatic, and he's a playboy. That's it. You know what I'm saying? That's all there is."

Additionally, the actor claims there's no weight behind the rumor right now. Although, he'd definitely be thrilled with the role and working with Trank again if given the chance.

"Nothing is real. Everyone knows we're good friends. It's something that if it happened I would be ecstatic," says Jordan, giving a big wink. "I'd love to be a part of it." "That wink was off the record," he then laughs."

When it comes to comic book movies, there's understandably a huge debate over what can and cannot be changed. At the end of the day, it's purely subjective. Personally, I wouldn't mind seeing Jordan as part of the team. And if Sue's still white, it could just mean one of them was adopted or they're stepsiblings. When it comes to the greater picture, I don't view this as a big deal at all. But what about you, Viners? Do you think they should stay as true as possible to the source material or would you be cool with the change?

Source: USA Today

He's a bad fit ,not due to race, just overall , I remember the guy on the wire he' s not a good pick.

stay as true as possible to the source material please

lol I love how he starts with "it's 2013, things change and time goes on bla bla bla"

it's not about his skin colour it's about what that means in the reboot. having him will certainly create a lot of unnecessary questions, and this being a reboot, we should have very little questions going in to the theater

Make it happen. I'm all for it.

No one seemed to complain that Sue was Latina(even though there was plenty of Alba hate, but that's because she's not that great an actress...)

well his skin is already torched. :)

I would love more black super heroes but this is not the way to go.

not a good choice, at all.

@chibi_cute:

not funny grow up

I can understand a change of a single character that has no relation to another ie, Nick Fury. It doesn't matter what color he was in Ultimate or in the Movieverse. But the issue here it the whole team dynamic is that they are actual siblings. I have step and half siblings and while I have a bond with them it's not as strong as my full-blood sister. Also changing something as big as this, say if he was adopted or step-sibling would take part of the movie away just trying to explain this whole back story and trying to make it understandable and show the importance that it has to the FF family dynamic I was mentioning. I personally haven't seen Jordan in any other movies/series so can't say on his ability to pull off the role.

this is not a big deal, it only becomes a big deal if race matters more than characters.....to be honest it would make more sense for the the Thing to be African American ben grimms background suits a race change better and its easier to explain

I don't care if it's 1806,I don't care what time it is:

I HATE unnecessary race changes in a character.It being 2013 doesn't change anything.I mean,some things like Sam L Jackson are different for me,but unnecessarily changing the race of the character pisses me off and bothers me.

Like with Perry White,or Ra's al ghul...

Well...Doesn't that throw a kink in things if Sue is still white?

What? Johnny is adopted now?

Meh. This is just like when Will Smith was rumored to be playing a white superhero. This too, shall pass.

I'm divided on this. It usually doesn't bother me when a character's race gets updated for a film, as it rarely has any impact on who the character is, and it makes for a film going experience that is more inclusive and representative of the world we live in. In that respect, there is nothing about Johnny Storm's character that requires him to be any particular race, in fact, I think Jordan has exactly the kind of charisma the character calls for.

That being said. Johnny Storm is a brother...I mean, well...not that kind. If Human Torch is black, then the Invisible Woman should be too, which is also not a problem for me. But I do see that being a problem for the studio. Half of the leads being black in a huge budget summer movie...I don't see that happening in 2010's Hollywood. So if the two are different races, there is a big old elephant in the room that is going to make the film awkward if not addressed, and the script awkward if it is. It is the same problem I had with Jessica Alba being paired with Chris Evans in the last series. Making Mr. Fantastic black would make a lot more sense.

I do like Michael B Jordan a lot, so although it seems like a really weird choice, if it does end up happening I will definitely be interested to see how it pans out.

@barkley: its just a joke sorry if i offended anyone.

The way he responded to this interview—confident, charming, light-hearted—shows that he'd make a great Johnny Storm.

Honestly, what's the big deal? Why didn't Jessica Alba as Susan Storm get this level of fan-hate?

The thing with race changes for me is if its a minor character, or a character who's backstory has changed a bunch and it doesnt really matter what race they are than who cares. Like Electro being black in the Amazing SPiderman 2, it doesnt really change anything. But Johnny Storm? One of 4 members of the team and a character who is and has always drawn to look like Sue? I dont think its the right choice if Sue is cast to be a white actress. O yeah and I'm adopted too, and It still feels like a bad move to me.

@evilvegeta74: that was years ago. check out chronicle and friday night lights. great actor who can pull it off

@zeyepawdz: sue could be adopted....

Bingo. This should never be a problem unless the acting is bad. How many people still complaining about Sam Jackson Nick Fury? Haters only.

Agreed.

this this THIS

and this.

I don't get the logic in "Let's suddenly change the characters race" (not like race actually means anything,but it just seems like some obvious,pathetic ploy to try to attract new people."HEY-If we change one of the white characters into a black one,then logically more black people will watch our movies".it pisses me off.It's like unnecessarily making a character gay just to make money.Changing race doesn't make you suddenly open-minded.

All I'm saying is,I hate when characters races are unnecessarily changed

They could be biracial, yet full-blooded siblings. They can grow up looking like they are different races.

And just because something is different, does not mean it has to be explained.

Wait, don't get me wrong here, I don't care what race he is! I just don't think the actor is right for the role. Furthermore, it really doesn't matter to me if they change a character to the color green.

I know that,those were just my seperate thoughts.And he doesn't even seem right for the role.....what if they made the thing green......

didn't a black comedian try getting the spiderman role in the amazing spiderman movie

This guy would be perfect for the role. He stole the last two season's of Friday Night Lights... excellent actor. I couldn't be more thrilled with this rumor!

Oh look, just like on Reddit there's a bunch of racists here pretending their objections are anything but race based. Johnny Storm's race is not integral to his character (unlike say, T'Chala, or Shang Chi, or even Steve Rogers) so who cares what color he is? It's irrelevant to the character.

@master_thief: Donald Glover

@cameron83: I don't think this is a case of "let's make him black to get publicity/court the African-American audience to come see the film/make $$$". I want to believe (but I can't say for 100% because I'm not a big Hollywood producer) that Michael B. Jordan's performance in Chronicle was a stand-out and a display of character traits that would make him a good fit for the role of Human Torch, so if he's actually the guy, they'll tweak the character accordingly. This doesn't seem to be a cynical cash grab because if it was, they'd grab someone with much more starpower than Jordan to do so.

Its not a big deal to me, if he plays the role in the spirit of the comic book character and is an entertaining on screen presense then he can be whoever he wants. I would prefer if Marvel had been making this but whatever, Spiderman and X Men first class was good so who knows...

MU could invite Superman in a crossover to examine Ben, in which he'd discover Ben is now Krptonite. Ben could never beat the Hulk but he'd have his day with Superman, and bragging rights.

The difference is that Nick Fury was black in the comics first

For those saying race doesn't matter, then why change his race to start with? If its to be more modern then race matters, if its to bring in more cash then race matters, if race didn't matter they wouldn't be considering the change in the first place.

As someone who's not a big FF fan I'm not bothered as long as the film is good, however I can understand why long term fans wouldn't be happy and its not racism, the same people wouldnt be happy if they made a white Luke Cage film.

I would find it interesting if people would be so for this if they took the character Storm and had a blond white girl play her.

that would be a great idea :)

Well I sure hope so.But I still just hate unnecessary race changes and they should just leave the material as is.HOWEVER,it's not like race actually affects performance or acting,it's just that it's really annoying and just better to stick to the source.But it's not like race actually affects the acting,and it doesn't NECESSARILY affect the movie....but the fact remains. do you know what I mean? Because I know that I am REALLY bad at explaining things sometimes.

White is right >:D

Black is wack >:D

lol!

......WHAT?!?!?!?!!

:)

Johnny Storm isn't really a playboy right? I thought he was a teen in the FF family..

I didn't like him in the FF movie.

And why is it that people always want to change white characters black? Sure I won't mind the change, but race does play a role in a characters personality and other aspects of the character. But how lame would it be if they made a Static Shock movie and hes Asian? Stop changing characters race and make some good movies that involves popular black superheroes! :)

I find it funny people always find excuses for keeping minority characters there race. Like people say Oh you could never make Black Panther white or Asian because being black is part of the character. The truth is people hate unnecessary changes to back stories they are attached to. I think the idea this is a racial argument is wrong, You could very easily change the back story to say T'challa to the unwanted son of a missionary sent to Wakanda that was left behind and raised by the childless king and Queen but in the end its just silly to go out of your way to change something like that. So if this actor is a great fit for Johnny then cast a black actress to play Sue and keep them blood relatives and I think everyone would calm down.

I'm not mad about the color it's just if they change the human torch they will have to change Susan storm and then people will be mad about the interracial couple and I just don't want to hear all of that people love the fantastic four why change anything?

I think I'd be less annoyed by this if it was a decision made by people who've consistently shown they get the material in the first place. With FOX it's just a thing where.. they seem HELL BENT on getting it wrong. This is not what would or would not be wrong with a Fantastic Four movie in theory, let's face it. You could probably do a satisfyingly Johnny Stormy black Johnny Storm. That's almost beside the point.

The frustrating thing is that if FOX opened their minds up to doing something even remotely faithful, something that plays on the strengths of the material they're adapting, they could've had an exciting, vibrant, cinematic Marvel universe going right now. Instead they keep making short term decisions informed by the whims of where movies are currently at and what is hot, and they end up with baggage like Halle Berry as Storm because there was a brief moment where everyone thought she'd be a big star.

Before FOX show that they can get their shit in order with all of these movies, they haven't earned the benefit of the doubt when casting characters this way. It's gonna put up a red flag, it will be interpreted as FOX still not getting it - and that'll continue to be a fair assumption.

Oh, how the tides have turned...

Late-2011: "Donald Glover for Spider-Man! Everybody now! Chant it with me! We need more racial diversity in our comic book characters!"

Mid-2013: "I just don't think Michael B. Jordan is the right fit for Johnny Storm... it's not that he's black he's just... he doesn't embody that character..."

My argument for his playing the character will stick to the fact that I don't think it's detrimental to the Marvel Universe. Who is it really hurting if The Human Torch is black? Nobody. You can want your favorite heroes to be the same forever all you want, but you're not the only people who read these books and you're not the only people who want cool superheroes.

Um. This would be a horrible idea. And I will say it (because I don't give a sh*t), It's because he is black! Johnny Storm is white!

People keep saying that oh because Susan would be white and be would be black they coulsn be full siblings? Guess what there are plenty of mix children that don't look like there sibling. Thats because mixed children arent some perfect blend of both races, they can get a mixed amont or they could look mostly one side while there sibling looks mostly like the other. Look at the series the Kane Chronicles, the brother is black and the sister is white but they both have the same biological parents. Does interracial marraige not exist to you people?

I stand by my previous statement that Justin Hartley would make a better Johnny Storm.

Wow some of the unbridled racism here is scary as hell. I think it can easily be explained he is adopted or a step sibling and move on. I have friends who are foster brother and sister who one is white and her younger brother is in fact mix raced. For crying out loud I am adopted (Black in a black family) but my mom had thought about adopting a white young boy her case manager had at the same time as me. So my potential brother could have been white and me black. It wouldn't have mattered since I grew up with him as my brother, if it had been the case and he had not been adopted by another family. I have only ever seen the actor in Chronicle and the character was not overly well thought out, so on an acting level he would have to prove himself. It is just really creepy that these white characters can't be recast black, considering everyone was cool with black Nick Fury.

@shadowx: Yay. Finally someone else who isn't overlooking that simple thing. Thank you.

@snarkybits: can I hug you? Ive been saying that since this rumor started and your the first to agree. Thank you

Why is it white people are the ones that always jump on the bandwagon for changing races of characters?. Most of the black people I know ( I am biracial so I will not include myself) don't give a F*** about the skin color of there favorite superheroes. Truth be told race DOES NOT MATTER but when making a movie from a source material its important to stick close to it. Look at the Avenger the actors look like the character they are playing if people want that its fine and understandable. Its not racist so do not throw that word around at others that do not think MBJ is the right fit, being racist means you hate a person because of there skin no one hates this actor here.