Fantastic Four helmer Josh Trank says he wanted to cast a black woman as Sue Storm in his 2015 misfire but encountered ‘pretty heavy pushback’
Unlike the Avengers, X-Men and Spider-Man, the superhero group known as the Fantastic Four has not exactly had the best run of it in the movies.
One of the oldest Marvel comic book titles, the Fantastic Four have had three films over the past 15 years, with very mixed results.
Now the director of the most recent iteration, Josh Trank, is speaking out about his quashed desire to cast a black actress in the pivotal role of Susan Storm, also known as the Invisible Woman.
Speaking out: Josh Trank is speaking out about one of the difficulties he encountered while making the Razzie Award-winning Fantastic Four in 2015, which included his quashed desire to cast a black actress in the role of Susan Storm/Invisible Woman; seen at that year’s Comic Con
While video chatting with the folks of Geeks of Color/First Cut, Trank, 36, described how his casting hopes were met with ‘pushback’ on the part of the studio.
‘When it came to it, I found a lot of pretty heavy pushback on casting a black woman in that role,’ Josh shared.
‘When I look back on that, I should have just walked when that realization sort of hit me, and I feel embarrassed about that, that I didn’t just out of principle,’ he continued.
Riddled with problems: The 2015 Fantastic Four reboot is considered one of the worst comic movies of all time, with an abysmal nine percent on Rotten Tomatoes
He also said that ‘there were a lot of controversial conversations that were had behind the scenes’ about the decision, specifying that he originally ‘was mostly interested in a black Sue Storm, a black Johnny Storm, and a black Franklin Storm [the pair’s father].’
Trank did indeed succeed in casting an African-American actor for the part of Johnny Storm/The Human Torch, as Michael B. Jordan secured the role.
Jordan had previously broken out in Trank’s impressive 2012 debut, the found-footage comic book-inspired film Chronicle, and has gone on to feature as the incredibly evocative villain of Marvel’s Black Panther.
Stormy casting debate: While Trank wanted black actors to portray both Sue Storm as well as her brother Johnny (a.k.a. The Human Torch), he only succeeded in getting the latter cast according to his wishes, with his Chronicle star Michael B. Jordan (right) in the role
Failed attempt: Josh said that ‘there were a lot of controversial conversations that were had behind the scenes’ about the casting decision for Susan Storm (left)
But the role of Johnny’s sister Sue ultimately went to white actress Kate Mara.
Trank, who released his third major title last month, did allow that ‘when you’re dealing with a studio on a massive movie like that, everybody wants to keep an open mind to, like, who the big stars are going to be. “Maybe it’ll be Margot Robbie,” or something like that.’
There have been two previous Fantastic Four movies, made in 2005 and 2007, as well as an unreleased 1994 film.
Trank’s 2015 reboot is considered one of the worst comic movies of all time, with an abysmal nine percent on Rotten Tomatoes.
The director’s latest project, Capone, came out on demand last month, and it stars Venom’s Tom Hardy as the legendary mob boss.
Practically invisible: The part of Johnny’s sister Sue eventually went to white actress Kate Mara, whose bland performance was far from an improvement on the role