Chronicle’s Michael B. Jordan (Anyone else notice his name is “Michael Jordan” lol) is rumored to be the next Human Torch of the Fantastic Four Reboot. There’s no prior comic book illustrations (by Stan Lee) of the Human Torch being a black man so this is a historical shift in comic book culture. When Samuel L. Jackson played a traditionally white Nick Fury [Update: A black “Ultimate Nick Fury” 1st appears in 2001′s Ultimate Marvel Team-Up #5 – Fun Fact: He was modelled after Samuel L. Jackson; who later plays Nick Fury in The Avengers] no one batted an eye at the idea. I imagine it’s because Sam knocks out virtually every character role he plays and Nick Fury wasn’t exactly a headlining character that would ruffle feathers when his skin color changed. Michael is one of those guys you just enjoy seeing on screen, I can’t imagine a better actor to take the “color shift leap of faith” into the Human Torch. Can’t wait to see this movie if it’s ever released. Keep reading to see Jordan’s take on it…
Jordan has been in talks to play the Human Torch in Twentieth Century Fox’s “Fantastic Four” reboot. He acknowledges the possibility, but says, “That’s not real yet.” The film is to be directed by Josh Trank, who cast Jordan as one of three high school friends who gain superpowers in “Chronicle.”
If Jordan were to be cast in “Fantastic Four,” he would be the rare black actor to assume a superhero role.
Jordan acknowledges that some will prefer the continuity of the Human Torch remaining white, as he is in the comics. But he thinks the character’s most identifiable qualities have little to do with race. (Jordan’s character in “Chronicle” was also originally scripted as white.)
“I’m all about breaking barriers and changing stuff,” says Jordan. “It’s 2013. We’ve got a black president. Times have changed.”
But whatever is to come for Jordan, it’s clear he has big ambitions: “I want a career like Leo,” he says. “I want a career like Ryan Gosling.”
Smiling, Jordan says: “It feels good. It feels good to get to a place where I can be creative and selective about certain things I do. I’m really curious to see what’s next.”
WRONG! Ultimate Nick Fury is black and has been around since 2001. You either don’t know your facts or hoping whoever reads this doesn’t. Either way the whole cast and script for this reboot just sound terrible. At the end of the day FOX is just trying to make a last minute movie to keep the rights from returning to Marvel Studios, a studio that would actually do this franchise justice. So what there’s a black President, unlike the last President the real Johnny Storm never needed fixing. So if you really wanna harp on the whole “times are changing” angle then let this franchise go back to Disney. No better change than that!
Hi YoungPrime, it turns out that you’re accurate about a pre-existing Nick Fury as a black man (Ultimate Nick Fury), 1st appearing in 2001’s Ultimate Marvel Team-Up #5. Honest mistake. I’m more familiar with Nick Fury’s long-standing original iterations created by Stan Lee. Thanks for your contribution! I’ll update the post.
About the Human Torch being black (or any other color) is besides the point of what I was getting at. What I was getting at is that it’s a shift of what we’re use to seeing. For some, it’s a “meh” thing, while for others it’s as if someone changed Superman into a Korean… not a good look haha. Call me bias, I prefer Superman white like I prefer James Bond to be white. To me it’s just part of their brand. The Human Torch however, I’m not as sensitive. So what I’m saying is… I’m ok with the change, and the candidate for the part is pretty awesome already. But the actors’ color or acting abilities won’t kill (make it great) this movie on it’s own, the film still has to execute everything else pretty well. There’s lots of room to screw it up. So I’m very interested so see how it all plays out. Thanks again for your comment YoungPrime.