Fantastic Four Director And Producer Talk Casting Controversies

Fantastic Four’s Josh Trank and Simon Kinberg have finally addressed the comic book fans who have gone Victor Von Doom on them over the past several months.

Trank, Fantastic Four’s director, and Kinberg, its producer, drew ire from Fantatic Four purists when they made “controversial” casting choices for The Human Torch and The Thing. Many fans criticized the duo for making Human Torch African American with Michael B. Jordan and Ben Grimm short with the 5-foot-7 Jamie Bell. But as the two revealed in a recent interview, they always knew that the move would draw scorn.

“I knew it was going to get ugly,” Trank said.

The pair have their reasons for re-imagining the Marvel Comics icons, whose appearances have remained relatively untouched in their fifty-plus year history. According to Trank, Jordan’s casting as the Human Torch only enriches Johnny Storm’s appeal.

“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,” Trank told HeroComplex. “But you can’t just keep telling it the same way over and over again. And I think it only helps the world to be more honest with young kids, to show them the world that they go walk outside and see.”

As for Jamie Bell’s casting as Ben Grimm, a character normally depicted as a hulking figure with a linebacker’s physique, Kinberg revealed that it was a decision motivated by story.

“The change of Jamie as Ben being a smaller guy instead of a bigger guy, for example, was for a purpose,” Kinberg said. “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 4 inches taller.”

But whether fans hate or love the new direction for Marvel’s characters, Trank and Kinberg stressed that all judgements should be reserved until Fantastic Four actually hits screens.

“If you look at Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, everybody was upset at first that Wolverine was tall and now nobody can imagine anybody else other than Hugh Jackman playing Wolverine,” Trank said.

What do you think of The Fantastic Four’s casting? Do you think Trank and Kinberg’s reasons are justifiable? Let us know in the comments.

Fantastic Four opens on August 7.