They grow up so fast. It seems like only yesterday Michael B. Jordan was breaking our hearts and taking our dope money as scrawny young Wallace on The Wire. Now here he is all grown up and, if the rumors are true, starring in what 20th Century Fox is undoubtedly hoping will be their next big superhero franchise. According to the website Schmoes Know, who claim to have a “source within Michael B Jordan’s agency,” he has just signed on to appear as the Human Torch in Fox’s Fantastic Four reboot.
Since his breakout role in The Wire, Jordan has also notably appeared on the TV shows Friday Night Lights and Parenthood and the films Chronicle and Fruitvale Station. It is his super-powered role in Chronicle that is most important here, though, as that movie was directed by one Josh Trank, who has also signed on to direct the newest Fantastic Four movie.
Jordan’s potential casting as Johnny Storm, a.k.a. the Human Torch, raises the possibility that Fox is trying to bring some much-needed diversity to the Marvel film universe. Jordan himself is African-American, whereas in the comic book his character–and indeed the remaining members of the Fantastic Four–are about as white as they come (except for The Thing, who has become part rock or something). Given that in the comics he is the younger brother of Sue Storm, a.k.a. the Invisible Woman, it raises the question of whether Fox will cast an African-American for that role as well or if they’re going to get around the difference in race some other way.
Of course, this isn’t exactly the New York Times breaking this story, so it should be taken with a grain of salt. If true, though, it could signal that Fox is willing to think outside the box for the Fantastic Four reboot. Bringing in an actor as talented as Michael B. Jordan would be a definite step in the right direction for a franchise that has not exactly made waves on the big screen so far.
