My buddy just came up with an explanation for this. Before I write it I must point out that he's a black guy so he's not being racist. He stated that the reason Johnny is black now is that he was burnt.

Just Why?Whats the Point? Why do they Always do this? Kingpin,Electro,Bane I mean I've got nothing wrong with it but its really annoyning ._.

@flameboy298: To be fair Kingpin was one of the few redeeming features of the Daredevil movie, you can't convince me that anyone could have done better in that role than MCD.

hahahahaha oh fox...

Remember folks its only okay when white people play other races, unless its a black guy cause only black people are allowed to play black people. But remember this when some British guy with a tan is playing Warpath and no one says a word about it.

If he's a good actor, I couldn't care less.

Actually I've been thinking about this and not to sound mean but White People shut up, you guys have been playing Native Americans, Latinos and Asians pretty much since movies were invented. Why is it okay for you to do it but if a black guy plays a white character you get all pissed?

Seriously go watch any Western from before the 90s and count how many actual Native Americans are in there. If its more than 2 let me know cause I've never seen it.

If it makes you feel better its never been alright with me, it worked that way in the past cause people were ignorent, and not willing to see a movie with a minority in it. Same reason why women werent allowed to act in plays and every role was done by men, people are still ignorent they just refuse to admit it.

I've watched hundreds of truely excellent foriegn films that had to get completely remade into over saturated american garbage because western audiences are idiots and most of the time give the same BS excuse "I dont wanna watch a book why would i wanna read a movie"

Thanks to movies millions of people believe "jesus" and egyptians were white people...

America is obsessed with races and it's produtors, mainly Hollywood, are obsessed with the idea of "diversity at all costs", which in the end does nothing

so yeah, not a very good idea on my book. what are you gonna accomplish by doing this?

atleast make Sue and Johny have the same parents like they always did

@dh69: It just bugs me that unless the character is a white guy in black face everyone is just cool with a white person playing them but if a minority plays a white person they flip out. Tho I do take some solace in the fact that a few hundred Latinos have made careers out of playing white folks under the radar. Can anybody tell me who Ramon Estavez is? I'll give you a cookie if you guess his stage name.

Carlos and Emilios daddy, i prefer to call him the Illusive man though.

But honestly Johnny and Sue are some of the whitest people in comics, and the idea of one actor being black while the other is white is just stupid, either make them both black or both white, not 50/50. Personally i wouldve loved it if they really switched it up and made spider-man black in the reboot...i probably wouldve enjoyed it more...as long as they didnt make him miles, PETER PARKER IS THE ONLY SPIDER-MAN

Not Thing. Don't make the tortured, inhuman monster on the team the black guy. Thing is the last one they should use as a vehicle for more diversity.

@fodigg: Not saying they should have. Just I'm surprised if they were doing, he wasn't the one.

@fodigg said:

@hewhosees said:

@fodigg said:

@hewhosees said:

@fodigg said:

I have no problem with this. Or any casting decision that makes superhero casts more inclusive.

Hippie!

I am, because your supporting the side of Hollywood (some would say ALL sides) that are wanton, capricious hedonists that think they can do whatever they want with established source material and get away with it like the worse versions of the real Greek Gods those bastards are.

And people who can't make a convincing argument are gonna cop-out funnily like this here.

Yeah,but I mean this looks like this becoming a trend now I didn't really like How they did Bane,wanting it to be so based on realism -____-

I'd watch that.

Dude. I'm HISPANIC, and I believe that, if a character, ESPECIALLY a major or fan favorite character from already established source material is a certain race, color, or whatever that, for the sake of authenticity, they SHOULD be that race, color, or whatever.

If a white dude played a dude that was black OR a black dude played a dude that was white, and the original characters were black and white respectively I'd be SERIOUSLY pissed. Same goes for ANY previously established major character (especially the major ones) that has been consistently portrayed as a different race for decades before the majority if filmmakers were fetus's in their mother's urethra!

That's funny, because if it happens, I'm slapping my son out of anger everyday for the rest of his life.

Yeah, I'm wildly upset because this totally matters and there is no way a black guy can possibly convey Johnny Storm's character. Johnny is just so synonymous with the concept of whiteness that casting a black actor will necessitate mass changes to backstory and ruin the movie. If Johnny isn't white, then they might have to like, make him an adoptive brother or cast a black actress for Sue Storm and either one of those things would be so incredibly bad that I would gouge my eyes out if forced to watch a single second of the movie.

Okay, sarcasm got a little out of control there. In all seriousness, there are zero reasons to care about this unless you were really dying to see somebody else in the role. Do I think Hollywood should deliberately try to pull race-changes on established characters? No, that's silly. But there's no sign that this casting would be based on that line of thinking. If a character isn't strongly tied to a certain ethnicity (Black Panther or Doom for example), then the character's ethnicity shouldn't be a big deal in casting. If later down the road we find out that they were definitely looking at this guy because they wanted a black Human Torch, then feel free to be angry. But until then, how about we give everyone involved the benefit of the doubt and assume they're looking at this guy because they think he's a good actor for the role.

@hewhosees: My issue is more about the people freaking out about it. Its always treated like a huge deal if a black guy plays a white character, and if a white guy plays a black character its treated as if the movie was a klan rally but its completely ignored if say a Mexican plays an Arab or an Italian plays a Native American.

I just don't get why its okay for some races but completely wrong for others. Actually the more I think about it the more this just seems like a black/white only thing really. Why isn't a white guy in a spray tan playing an Indian not considered just as racist as a white guy in black face at a minstrel show?

lol, im not racist but i hate characters changeing race. like will smith being asked to play superman. its just a dumb idea. i liked Steve the best from cronicle but hes no Johnny Storm.

BOTH are racist dude. Funny in a dark sense, but racist.

Also, for the Mexican playing an Arab thing, I think it's more justifiable because of how NATURALLY they can look toward each other. Heck, with my complexion and my facial hair, I was once asked if I was INDIAN when I was traveling to Austria for people to people when I'm 100 pure Puerto-Rican goodness (though, if you knew my personality, I'm as white as mayonnaise with some Adobe spice thrown in somewhere).

oh cause White Goku was perfectly acceptable, and well liked

@hewhosees said:

@fodigg said:

@hewhosees said:

@fodigg said:

@hewhosees said:

@fodigg said:

I have no problem with this. Or any casting decision that makes superhero casts more inclusive.

Hippie!

I am, because your supporting the side of Hollywood (some would say ALL sides) that are wanton, capricious hedonists that think they can do whatever they want with established source material and get away with it like the worse versions of the real Greek Gods those bastards are.

And people who can't make a convincing argument are gonna cop-out funnily like this here.

Lol, right. Because your argument was so coherent.

Sure. If that guy somewhat resembled the dude he's based on and was a good actor, I'd let it slide without a second thought.

But know this, he'll NEVER be Johnny Storm or the Human Torch. He'll always be Mr. Bad choice of Wanton, Capricious, Grecian, Hollywood machine number eleventy billion the next generation to me and lots of others, and we'll NEVER let that go.

He may give in a good performance, but all of that will be rendered moot because I'll always see him as a guy PLAYING the character than the character himself.

@fodigg said:

@hewhosees said:

@fodigg said:

@hewhosees said:

@fodigg said:

@hewhosees said:

@fodigg said:

I have no problem with this. Or any casting decision that makes superhero casts more inclusive.

Hippie!

I am, because your supporting the side of Hollywood (some would say ALL sides) that are wanton, capricious hedonists that think they can do whatever they want with established source material and get away with it like the worse versions of the real Greek Gods those bastards are.

And people who can't make a convincing argument are gonna cop-out funnily like this here.

Lol, right. Because your argument was so coherent.

And yours was not even there. Take your pick. Republican: party of the wrong plan. Democrats: party of no plan.

Being white or black doesn't make you racist. Their intention might be good but the actions they are taking to achieve it are very wrong. How would you feel if a white guy was cast as BP, many fans would be offended regardless of their skin color. There are plenty of Black heroes but Hollywood thinks they are not fit to lead a solo movie, that they can only work in a team with white guys. That's not good. Changing someone's skin color is wrong doesn't matter whether its done by a black guy or a white guy. I will most probably see the movie and the actor seems decent but I'm very disappointed(was very angry before that's why the racist remark sorry)

I agree with this.

My gut reaction was that I didn't like it because it is racist to change character's from one race to another. But the more I thought about it, the more I began to realize that this "mindset" may be the one that is truly racist. A white guy playing a white guy, or a black guy playing a black guy, we are way too focused on race. Race should not matter as much as it does, but unfortunately this simply isn't the case. Hopefully humans can reach a point where anyone can play anyone, and everyone is comfortable with it.

@allstarsuperman: Lets be honest here White Goku was the least of that movie's problems. They could have cast an actual alien Monkey person and it wouldn't have saved that garbage. Also I heard no where near the outrage over that as I did when they cast a black Heimdall.

Lets what would happen if Luke Cage was played by a Asian dude. THE FIRE RISES!!!

@dragonborn_ct: Only if Iron Fist is played by a Samoan

I just don't see how this is important isn't this what acting is all about. A man playing a woman and vice versa and a whatever race person playing whatever race. People need to get over it if you don't like it don't watch the movie it's that simple.

It dosent bother me. What will bug me is all the stupid post about race and blah blah that will by made on the matter

I actually don't have any problem with the casting if they make him look like Johny i.e blonde and white. In Cloud atlas Halle Berry played a white and Asian-Indian role, also some white dude played a Asian role and they did pretty great job.

I thought changing Heimdall and Bane was bad and I think this would be bad also. It is not Marvel Studios so it doesn't really matter.

On the whole, I think people are overreacting.

I have no idea why... or even how.... but most likely why.

I have no problem with Johnny being black. I just have no idea why. Pretending that race isn't there is sort of being intentionally retarded. We see it. It's physically there. What possible reasonable explanation could there be for whiteface or blackface.

It sort of makes sense when the role requites the skill or "Charm" of a certain actor(s).

For example. Johnny Depp playing Tonto in The Lone Ranger. Half that movies revenue will come in simply by people who want to see Depp in redface. It's kind of dumb but it makes sense.

Another example would be the Oscar nominated disaster film The Impossible. It was based on true story about a Spanish families epic tale of survival during the Boxer Tsunami in 04. The film's main cast however where all white. Why? Because when Naomi Watts and Ewan Mcgregor want to be in your movie you don't hesitate to say yes. See. It's pretty messed up that films have to do this to draw the attention of movie goers but from a business standpoint it makes sense.

And now we have this. The kid from Chronicle (who no one really cared about) being cast as a recognizable white comicbook character in a big budget Hollywood movie. There's no reason for it. At least I don't see it. The only thing I see is them trying to be diverse. If that were the case why not make a Black Panther movie? Not only would it make sense but it would probably be 100% better than that soon-to-be crapfest of a movie.

how about we just make him japanese while we're at it? and give him a new name. how about sunfire? oh wait. no. because that is not the character.

@hewhosees said:

@fodigg said:

@hewhosees said:

@fodigg said:

@hewhosees said:

@fodigg said:

@hewhosees said:

@fodigg said:

I have no problem with this. Or any casting decision that makes superhero casts more inclusive.

Hippie!

I am, because your supporting the side of Hollywood (some would say ALL sides) that are wanton, capricious hedonists that think they can do whatever they want with established source material and get away with it like the worse versions of the real Greek Gods those bastards are.

And people who can't make a convincing argument are gonna cop-out funnily like this here.

Lol, right. Because your argument was so coherent.

And yours was not even there. Take your pick. Republican: party of the wrong plan. Democrats: party of no plan.

So what you're saying is, you're wrong.

A black Johnny Storm? I think it's more disappointing that 20th Century Fox is doing the movie again, and not Marvel.

Honestly I could only care less than the amount that I do right now. BUT...

For the sake of debating/sharing/learning/whatever.

I. I cannot remember who said who so whoever reads this, and the shoe fits, feel free to respond.

II. There is a difference between a white guy playing a cuban in a movie, and a black guy playing a black guy who in the original source material is white.

III.

Wait. People complained about (black) Heimdall? I wish I could remember. Back on the topic "White Goku" was actually a good rebuttal in my opinion.

IV. I don't know why everyone is comparing Johnny Storm to T'Challa. T'Challa is from Africa, if Johnny Storm was from South America, or Asia I would understand, but in my opinion US American's don't have a specific pigment/heritage/race/ethnicity/whatever. Comparing Magneto to T'Challa is fair in my opinion there's not way I can see the Black Panther not being Black or seeing Magneto not being white.

If the character in question has an origin that specifically details his or her ethnicity then it should cause an outrage to an extent, but Johnny Storm is American so for me it's up for grabs. I mean I can't imagine a believable story of Nazie's abusingly training a black/asian/hispanic mutant in Germany.

V. I think they can make Luke Cage white/hispanic/asian/Islander/whatever. I'm not fully familiar with his origin but as far as I know he's a US American(again for me that means it's up for grabs) same goes for Iron Fist.

VI.

I've said this previously and I will say it again, Johnny Storm is a US American his origin story isn't like T"challa, Sunfire, or Magneto... so yes we can basically decide to make Johnny Storm a US American whose ethnicity happens to be from Japan.

( + )

In the words of King Kendrick Lamar:

" **** YOUR ETHNICITY "

( + )

Umm why is everyone assuming that the producers were actively looking to cast a black actor to play Johnny Storm. Maybe he had the best audition tape. Unless if race is a integral part of a character's story then it really shouldn't matter. I mean I am cool if Luke Cage is portrayed by a white guy or if Spider-woman is portrayed by an Asian as long as the actors can actually act.

But anyway there is a good chance he won't be cast also due to the fact that movies with leading black actors tend to not do well in the foreign markets.

@yung_ancient_one: White Luke Cage would not work at all, yes he is American but being Black is integral to his character. Its technically the whole reason he gained his powers, a racist guard tried to kill him during an experiment he'd volunteered for to reduce his prison sentence. Also Luke Cage was one of the few comics of his original era to actually attempt to take racism seriously. I know some people may point out the Green Lantern/ Green Arrow dealt with it but you'd be hard pressed to find a 3rd.

Why? Although the change is really weird I'm not complaining too much. This will decrease blatant "oh man, there's no black people in this movie so it's racist" comments though. Also I enjoyed Michael's performance in Chronicle.