Michael B. Jordan isn’t surprised that some comic book fans expressed displeasure over the fact that he will play the Human Torch in Josh Trank‘s upcoming reboot of “The Fantastic Four,” but the 27-year-old actor isn’t all that concerned about it, either.
The actor, who is black, will be playing a character who has always been portrayed in comic books — and a previous film series — as a caucasian man. That’s led to some long-time fans to cry foul, but the reaction wasn’t much of a surprise to him.
“It was expected. You kinda know going into it that people are used to seeing something one way, it’s a continuity thing more than anything,” Jordan said at a recent event in Rome. “People don’t like change too much. But annoyed? Eh, you just kinda accept it, it is what it is. You can’t make everybody happy. You just gotta accept that and know. I’m an actor, I have to do my job. I’m going to do my job the best I can and the way I’ve been doing it my entire life, my entire career.
“I grew up a comic book guy, I read comic books as a kid growing up, and the Fantastic Four/Human Torch is one of my favorite characters so I’m going to give it my everything,” the actor, who earned acclaim this year for his turn in the Indie Spirit-winning film “Fruitvale Station,” continued. “I can’t wait. I don’t really let it bother me at all. I just want to go into it and do the best job I can. We’ll see what happens.”
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It was long believed that Jordan also played a role originally meant for a white guy in the teenage superhero film “Chronicle,” but a source told The Wrap that the script said any of the three leads could be of any race.