UPDATE: 2/20/2014 2:00 pm
According to Kate Mara, she’s not sure she actually has the part or not. Either someone at Fox messed up and didn’t tell Mara’s people, or someone is getting fired over at Variety. From MTV News (so you know it’s totes legit, yo!):
“According to Twitter, I am [in the movie]. I literally have not heard a thing, which is alarming,” Mara told MTV News while promoting the new season of “House of Cards.” “Last night in bed, I was scrolling through movie news. I was like, ‘What? I got the part?’ I still haven’t heard. I want LA to wake up so that I can make some phone calls and figure this out.”
When asked whether to clarify if she wasn’t sure if she got the part or if she just couldn’t say publicly, Mara reiterated that the deal could still be up in the air. “I literally don’t know 100 percent that I have that part,” she said. “I don’t like to celebrate before something’s real because how embarrassing would that be? I hope so.”
Aside from the fact that she doesn’t know for sure whether she’s in the movie or not, Mara is enthusiastic about the reboot and everyone else involved in it. She complimented director Josh Trank as well as all three of the other supposed leads including Michael B. Jordan, who she said she previously met.
The future Human Torch has been at the center of some controversy, due the character’s race changing for the film, but Mara took the change as a mark a quality, that it’s a sign of the movie to come.
“Again, I credit Josh Trank for that because… he thinks outside the box. I don’t actually know whose idea that was, but it just makes me trust that he’s going to make an awesome movie. Regardless of myself, I’m such a massive fan of all those guys.”
ORIGINAL ARTICLE:
The long-in-the-works reboot of the “Fantastic Four” finally has their cast. According to Variety, the cast is:
Miles Tellar as Reed Richards “Mister Fantastic”
Kate Mara as Sue Storm “The Invisible Woman”
Jamie Bell as Ben Grimm “The Thing”
Michael B. Jordan as Johnny Storm “The Human Torch”
With this firmly younger cast, it looks like director Josh Trank and screenwriter Simon Kinberg are looking to draw inspiration more from the “Ultimate” universe version of the team, which I don’t necessarily have a problem with.
Michael B. Jordan (“Fruitvale Station,” “Chronicle”) was long-rumored as Johnny Storm, but this confirmation is sure to inspire all sorts of nerd rage. We broke down the controversy months ago, and it’s worth a revisit, but, seriously, if you have a problem with this, the problem is with you, not the casting. More on this in a minute.
In the less controversial casting, we have Kate Mara cast as Sue Storm, The Invisible Woman. I’m incredibly excited for this, as is, I assume, anyone who has seen her work on “House of Cards.” Trivia: she’s already been in the Marvel Cinematic Universe– as the cute clerk who serves Tony Stark a subpoena to testify before Congress at the beginning of “Iron Man 2.”
As the only female in a male-dominated cast, she’s going to have to be able to throw down and assert her presence (even when invisible.) She’s got the chops for that. I’d throw myself in front of a moving train to see her in a role like this, assuming it’s well-written. Ok, perhaps that’s a bad choice of phrase, but you get the drift.
So, the Storm family: brilliant, inspired casting.
The rest? Well, we shall see.
Jamie Bell for Ben Grimm is an interesting choice, but I say that anytime lil Billy Elliot shows up and wants to dance his way into our hearts again. Unfortunately, he usually ends up in middling fare like “Jumper” or, worse, “The Eagle.” However, since he’s going to be in a giant orange rock costume most of the film anyway, I guess the only thing we really have to ask ourselves is how well does he yell “It’s clobberin’ time!”
And that leaves us Miles Tellar. I could not be more ambivalent about a casting choice ever. Usually I can come up with some nice things to say to give us hope. The only words of comfort I have are that Josh Trank made a great movie in “Chronicle” with an unknown cast. And certainly no studio exec was pushing Tellar’s box-office draw, because most of his films have done fairly poorly.
In a strange twist of fate, you can actually go see Tellar and Jordan opposite one another (and Zac Efron) in the R-rated bro-comedy “That Awkward Moment.” As in “That awkward moment when you announce a major franchise reboot and two of your stars are starring in a major box office and critical flop.”
But come on, what we really care about is that Johnny Storm is going to be black. This bears repeating, so I’m simply going to copy and paste it from my earlier opinion piece on this issue:
First, because Jordan is really awesome. Read what I posted on Facebook after seeing Fruitvale Station earlier this year:
I then got into a long argument with several geeks. (natch) I conceded some of their finer points, but I still think this would be amazing.
So what about the race issue?
This would be controversial, but my feeling continues to be that anyone for whom this is a problem IS the problem. At their core, these heroes are not a race. And I truly believe that there is not another actor of Jordan’s age who would make a better Johnny Storm.
***
So, maybe the Storms are actually stepbrother and stepsister, or he’s adopted? Blended and non-traditional families are nothing new in America. And after all, that is what Fantastic Four is at its core– family. So why not a multiracial one? Again, I think anyone who has a problem with this is the problem.
We would be so lucky, especially if we get to see something where maybe Johnny Storm is portrayed as a “thug” or “dangerous” in the media because he’s an actual representation of a typical black youth in America today.
I mean, seriously, can you believe how Bill O’Reilly and Sean Hannity would lose their @#$% if there was a flying, flaming superhero who was an attention-seeking young black male with a temper?
Of course, maybe this is expecting too much of a summer popcorn flick. But who’s saying we can’t have some layers?
Let’s withold judgment until we see an actual film, or maybe even some trailers. In the meantime, check out some Ultimate Fantastic Four and prepare yourself for the First Family of the Marvel comics universe to make their way (again) to cineplexes near you. They’re aiming for a release date of June 19, 2015.