Creed star Michael B. Jordan is about to feature as the villainous Erik Killmonger in Marvel’s Black Panther, but this isn’t his first time appearing in a movie based on characters from the House of Ideas. Back in 2015, he starred as Johnny Storm AKA Human Torch in Fantastic Four. The reboot of the heroes’ origins story was meant to kickstart a new franchise, but its savage reviews and pretty pathetic box office gross put paid to that idea.
In Black Panther, though, Jordan has the opportunity to make things right and appear in a Marvel movie that fans will hopefully love. When talking with Screen Rant recently during a set visit in Atlanta, the actor spoke about how he wasn’t afraid to dive back into the superhero genre after his experience with FF. Instead, he saw it as a way to “get it right.”
Here’s what he said in response to being asked why he signed up for the film slightly later than the rest of the cast:
Zero hesitation to do another comic book movie. I guess I got brought in later in the game because that was the natural process – we and Ryan still talked everyday, and I still, still kind of in an unofficial capacity, had always been part of it.
No hesitation, really, to do another comic book film. I’m a geek, I love this world, I love being able to play in that fantastic kind of space. I looked at it as another shot to get it right, to do it again, and especially teaming up with [Director of Photography] Rachel [Morrison] again and Ryan, it’s a very comfortable space with me. It’s the perfect space for me to take another risk like this, so it was no hesitation on my part.
While it’s hardly his fault, Jordan’s interpretation of Torch didn’t go down too well with fans, some of whom didn’t like the traditionally white character being reimagined as an African-American. From what we’ve seen and heard so far, though, the actor is the perfect fit to play T’Challa’s nemesis in Black Panther.
He’s put a lot of passion and effort into the movie, too, even seeking inspiration from outstanding supervillain performances like Heath Ledger’s Joker and Michael Fassbender’s Magneto. Suffice it to say, he’s definitely looking in the proper places and we can only hope that he’s able to “get it right” when Black Panther lands in cinemas on February 16th.
