Michael B. Jordan is the new Human Torch, even though the original character was blonde and blue-eyed, in the upcoming Fantastic Four reboot. His casting got people riled up on the Internet, but anyone who has seen his work knows that he deserves a shot in a big franchise. Now, Jordan is swinging back at the Internet trolls.
Jordan wrote an essay for Entertainment Weekly, explaining that he is no longer bothered by the haters, especially since FF co-creator Stan Lee approved of the casting.
The actor, who starred in director Josh Trank’s previous film, Chronicle, and made a splash with Fruitvale Station, wrote that the message of the new film is unity and working within a team. Trank isn’t trying to make a statement on the modern family.
“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,” Jordan wrote. “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.”
Jordan concluded his piece by talking directly to the trolls who criticized the casting.
“Get your head out of the computer. Go outside and walk around. Look at the people walking next to you,” Jordan concluded. “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.”
Hollywood has been changing races of characters for decades. Another previously white Marvel character, Nick Fury, is played by a black actor on film and that version of the character has proved so popular that he has supplanted the white character in the comics. Everyone got used to Samuel L. Jackson as Fury and we should get used to Jordan as Johnny Storm.
Fantastic Four hits theaters on Aug. 7 and a sequel is already planned for 2017.
for more movie news, follow Daniel on Twitter
image of ‘Fantastic Four’ stars Miles Teller, Kate Mara, Jamie Bell and Michael B. Jordan courtesy of INFphoto.com