Fantastic Four: Michael B. Jordan Writes Open Letter for Fans and Critics

Judging from the trailers we have so far seen of Josh Trank’s Fantastic Four reboot, it still remains difficult to get a handle on what the tone, tenor, and ultimate quality of the film will be. Personally though, I hope it ends up being every bit as fantastic as its title—and not because of an affinity for the Fantastic Four characters (which I have), or because the world needs another superhero franchise. I just hope that it proves the most pernicious and mean-spirited minds wrong about the casting of Michael B. Jordan, one of the most interesting up-and-coming young actors in Hollywood today, as Johnny Storm in 2015.

Making that point more eloquently, Michael B. Jordan released an open letter to fans or otherwise today via Entertainment Weekly. In it, he spoke about playing the Human Torch on the big screen and he revealed his thoughts on the controversy, as well as the most vitriolic of detractors he has had to endure.

It used to bother me, but it doesn’t anymore. I can see everybody’s perspective, and I know I can’t ask the audience to forget 50 years of comic books. But the world is a little more diverse in 2015 than when the Fantastic Four comic first came out in 1961. Plus, if Stan Lee writes an email to my director saying, ‘You’re good. I’m okay with this,’ who am I to go against that?

…This is a family movie about four friends—two of whom are myself and Kate Mara as my adopted sister—who are brought together by a series of unfortunate events to create unity and a team. That’s the message of the movie, if people can just allow themselves to see it.

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. 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.

To the trolls on the Internet, I want to say: Get your head out of the computer. Go outside and walk around. Look at the people walking next to you. 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.

You can read the full letter here. The Fantastic Four trailer is below.