After making his feature film debut with the low-budget super-powers hit Chronicle, director Josh Trank is now turning his attention to Marvel’s First Family for 20th Century Fox’s The Fantastic Four. According to The Wrap, the reboot could see Trank reuniting with Chronicle star Michael B. Jordan, who has apparently met with the studio several times about taking on the role of Johnny Storm, a.k.a. the Human Torch.
First breaking on to the scene via the small screen in The Wire and Friday Night Lights, Jordan has enjoyed a number of feature film roles lately, including Red Tails, Chronicle and the upcoming indie drama Fruitvale Station. He is also due to lend his voice to the DC Comics superhero Cyborg in Warner Bros.’ upcoming animated movie Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox.
The news that Jordan is a strong candidate for the role of Johnny Storm in The Fantastic Four appears to conflict with the recent reports that Girls star Allison Williams under consideration for Johnny’s sister Susan Storm (a.k.a. Invisible Woman), given the fact that Jordan is black and Williams is white. Should Jordan secure the role, it wouldn’t be the first occasion that a comic book character had changed ethnicity for the big screen – most notably Michael Clarke Duncan as Kingpin in Daredevil, Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Idris Elba as Heimdall in Heimdalland Thor: The Dark World and Jamie Foxx as Electro in the upcoming The Amazing Spider-Man 2, although it would mark the first colour blind casting of a major superhero in a leading role.
The Fantastic Four is currently slated for release on March 6th 2015.
Originally published May 2, 2013. Updated April 11, 2018.
