'Fantastic Four': Casting Of Michael B Jordan, Jamie Bell Discussed

Director Josh Trank’s “Fantastic Four” has been shrouded in controversy for its casting choices. Trank and co-writer Simon Kinberg recently defended their decision of talking a different route while choosing the actors for iconic superhero ensemble, especially casting Michael B. Jordan as Johnny Storm/the Human Torch and Jamie Bell as Ben Grimm/the Thing.

With Jordan, Trank changed the origin of Storm and with Bell he changed the physical characteristics of Grimm. "It only speaks to the greatness of any story that has been told for decades or centuries that people still want to tell that story. But you can’t just keep telling it the same way over and over again,” he told the Los Angeles Times about his decision to alter the image of “Marvel First Family.”

Jordan addressed the criticism he faced for being cast as Storm in an article in Entertainment Weekly. According to him, it is the “creative choice” of the director and a representation of the modern families of today that have people from different origins.

In the comics, Storm is brother of Susan Strom and is the youngest member of the Fantastic Four. He can absorb fire and can control nearby fire with his mind.

Meanwhile, Kinberg spoke about choosing Bell, who is 5-feet-7, to play Grimm. According to him, it will be more interesting to have a petite guy turn into a giant. “It's more dramatic when that character becomes a huge rock creature -- that's a bigger transformation. The notion of a working-class tough guy who's been pushed around by his bigger brothers his whole life seemed like a more interesting character than the guy who started as a football player and just ended up being four inches taller,” he said.

In the comics, Grimm is a skilled street fighter and has above-average reflex. “Fantastic Four” is reboot of the “Fantastic Four” film franchise and has been largely shot in Louisiana. It also stars Miles Teller, Kate Mara, Toby Kebbell, Reg E. Cathey and Tim Blake Nelson. It concerns four people who are teleported to an alternate universe where they gain new abilities. They must harness their abilities to save Earth from evil forces. Marco Beltrami and Philip Glass have supplied the music and Matthew Jensen is doing the cinematography.

It opens Aug. 7 in 2D and 3D.