Stan Lee Thinks Michael B. Jordan As Human Torch In Fantastic Four Was A Great Idea

It’s time for Human Torch haters to cool off on Michael B. Jordan’s casting in the Fantastic Four. Stan Lee, co-creator of The Fantastic Four and godfather of the Marvel Universe has given Jordan his excelsior stamp of approval.

During a recent interview, Lee revealed that director Josh Trank’s decision to cast Jordan as Johnny Storm, who is traditionally white in Marvel Comics and other media, “Was more than ok.”

“I thought it was a great idea!” he told Entertainment Weekly.

However, Lee thinks that the fanboy rampaging isn’t a product of racism or or bigotry. Rather, the passionate fans are merely loyal to Marvel’s source material, and don’t like seeing any liberties taken with it.

“They’re outraged because they hate to see any change made on a series and characters they had gotten familiar with. In Spider-Man, when they got a new actor, that bothered them, even though it was a white actor. I don’t think it had to do with racial prejudice as much as they don’t like things changed.”

Regardless, Lee, who added racial diversity in the Marvel Comics Universe by incorporating Black Panther, The Falcon, and more throughout Marvel’s silver age, thinks that diversity in live-action interpretations is important as well.

“I think they’re gonna get to love this character,” he further told EW. “So I’m not the least bit worried about it. I always tried to pepper these groups with as much racial diversity as possible because that’s the way the world is.”

Are you ready to see Jordan in Fantastic Four? Let us know in the comments!

Fantastic Four hits theaters on August 7. And to see when it’s already-scheduled sequel arrives, head to ComicBook.com’s comic book movie database.