Josh Trank, the guy who directed the infamous Fantastic Four movie in 2015, has opened up about his life being threatened following his casting of actor Michael B. Jordan to play Johnny Storm.
As comic and movie fans know, the character of Johnny Storm/Human Torch (first played by Chris Evans) is white, and for this reason, a lot of backlash followed the black-skinned Jordan after he got the role.
In a recent interview with Polygon, Josh Trank remembered the criticism he faced when he chose Jordan to play Johnny Storm.
His comments:
For the world I grew up in, a racially intense Los Angeles where we were used to seeing white superheroes, some of my friends who were black should have seen a black superhero.
So, I felt that while being in a position of power, I could change the system a little bit.
I was getting threats on IMDb message boards saying they were going to shoot me. I was so f**king paranoid during that shoot. If someone came into my house, I would have ended their f**king life.”
Trank said he had to purchase a gun which he kept next to his bed. He later returned it shooting for the film was finished.
Michael B. Jordan himself had addressed the backlash then, urging people to catch up with the reality of the real world and the need to embrace diversity in Hollywood.
The Creed star also mentioned that if Stan Lee (who is late now) could write an email to the director Trank saying he was okay with Jordan’s casting, who then was he to go against it.
