Not everything is black and white!

Fox's reboot of the Fantastic Four has been controversial to say the least.  A stream of, what looks like, poor casting decisions has been the prime concern.  Jamie Bell as the Thing?  Really?  The kid from Billy Elliot?

But the biggest controversy appears to stem from the casting of Michael B Jordan as Johnny Storm.  Let's address the elephant in the room here, he's black! 

Now casting a black Johnny Storm seems to be an issue.  First things first, Michael B Jordan's credentials as an actor seem ok.  I haven't personally seen him in anything other than a couple of guest TV roles.  However, he has been in The Wire, one of the most critically acclaimed shows of the last 20 years.  This is a good thing.  Hopefully Fox cast him because he is a good actor.  We can only assume this, because Josh Trank has cast him for a second time in a movie.  To think otherwise would be really patronising of Fox, and hopefully not something an up and coming young black actor would want to be part of.

For me the biggest issue in the casting of a black actor for Johnny Storm isn't even his casting.  For me I think it is the laziness of Fox being to scared to go the whole hog with it.  They should of cast Sue as a black actress too.  This is a brother and sister, who have a very close upbringing due to being hauled around the world being brought up by an Army dad.  After Mum was gone, there is no new relationship for dad, no time for a step parent.  If you want to be progressive in pushing forward good black role models, why stop at one half of a brother and sister team, all this does is make it look like a token casting, even when it may not be.  If you have a black brother and sister team, the sister of which marries a white guy, then you are setting up good role models for kids on respect for other cultures and heroes black kids can associate with.

Marvel have a very white character base over all, some of which has been adjusted with the Ultimate Universe (Nick Fury) and they introduced the first black hero in Black Panther (Where the hell is this movie!) 

I am one of the first people to moan when things aren't exact to the comic books.  Why make the movie, if you don't want to do these characters?  However I don't think changing a characters colour to give a little more balance makes too much difference as long as the story properly reflects it. (No they don't have to come from Harlem just cause they are black, but having two white parents would be weird, unless adopted.) 

Yes some characters need to be certain races.  As examples, Black Panther is black, from an African country, full of black people, with a black heritage, The Thing is Jewish, and it is a core part of his character.  But sometimes, it really is just a case of "does it really matter?"

Let me know what you think in the comments below!