Josh Trank & Simon Kinberg Defend Fantastic Four Casting

With Fantastic Four only about two months away, we hear from Simon Kinberg and Josh Trank as they talk about the controversy surrounding the casting of the movie.

What’s interesting is not only do the two talk about Michael B. Jordan being cast as Johnny Storm, but also Jamie Bell as Ben Grimm, aka The Thing.

“I knew it was going to get ugly,” Trank told the LA Times, who himself is a part of a mixed family. “I get it. I have a lot of friends who are older than me who are comic fans and it’s really hard for them to be on board with a change like that. Fantastic Four has been theirs for longer than I’ve been alive. It hasn’t been mine.”

Tranks continues with the argument that Fantastic Four is more similar to the real world.

“… you can’t just keep telling it the same way over and over again,” Trank offered. “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.”

Now regarding Jamie Bell as The Thing, Simon Kingberg steps in to offer an explanation.

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

Kinberg continues by comparing the Fantastic Four casting to that of Hugh Jackman as Wolverine.

“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.”

“Fantastic Four” has an August 7, 2015 release directed by Josh Trank from a screenplay by Jeremy Slater, Simon Kinberg and Josh Trank; produced by Matthew Vaughn, Simon Kinberg, Hutch Parker, Robert Kulzar and Gregory Goodman; starring: Miles Teller, Michael B. Jordan, Kate Mara, Jamie Bell and Toby Kebbell.

Synopsis:

FANTASTIC FOUR, a contemporary re-imagining of Marvel’s original and longest-running superhero team, centers on four young outsiders who teleport to an alternate and dangerous universe, which alters their physical form in shocking ways. Their lives irrevocably upended, the team must learn to harness their daunting new abilities and work together to save Earth from a former friend turned enemy.

Trailer: