Josh Trank claims he wanted a black Sue Storm and black Franklin Storm in the 2015 superhero reboot but faced 'a lot of pretty heavy pushback' from the top heads.
- June 8, 2020
AceShowbiz - Josh Trank wishes he'd fought harder to cast a black actress for the role of Sue Storm in his 2015 movie "The Fantastic Four".
While speaking with website Geeks of Color, the filmmaker opened up about his career regrets and admitted there were "a lot of controversial conversations that were had behind the scenes" during the making of the flick.
"I was mostly interested in a black Sue Storm, a black Johnny Storm, and a black Franklin Storm," he shared. "But also, when you're dealing with a studio on a massive movie like that, everybody wants to keep an open mind to, like, who the big stars are going to be."
However, when it came to casting the part, Josh says he "found a lot of pretty heavy pushback on casting a Black woman in that role… when I look back on that, I should have just walked when that realisation sort of hit me, and I feel embarrassed about that, that I didn't just out of principle."
He added, "I'm somebody who always talks about standing up for what I believe in, even if it means burning my career out. I feel bad that I didn't take it to the mat with that issue. I feel like I failed in that regard."
Kate Mara starred as Sue in the film opposite Michael B. Jordan, Miles Teller, and her future husband Jamie Bell.
