FANTASTIC FOUR Director Josh Trank Bought A Gun To Protect Himself From Johnny Storm Casting Backlash

FANTASTIC FOUR Director Josh Trank Bought A Gun To Protect Himself From Johnny Storm Casting Backlash

When Michael B. Jordan was cast as Johnny Storm in 2015's Fantastic Four reboot, the backlash from fans was massive, and director Josh Trank has now revealed that he actually feared for his life...

By JoshWilding - May 06, 2020 06:05 AM EST
Filed Under: Fantastic Four
Source: Polygon

We've brought you guys a lot of highlights from Josh Trank's recent profile over at Polygon, but this...well, it's a weird one.

As you may recall, when Chronicle star Michael B. Jordan was cast as Johnny Storm/Human Torch in the Fantastic Four reboot, many fans were left fuming, and while some were simply unhappy with changes made to the comic books, others were just full-on racist. 

Jordan - an extremely talented actor who has since gone on to impress in everything from Creed to Black Panther - even got Stan Lee's seal of approval, but that didn't really ease the backlash.

Now, Trank has revealed just how much the negative reaction got to him while he was working on Fantastic Four

"I was getting threats on IMDb message boards saying they were going to shoot me," the filmmaker recalls, revealing that he started keeping a loaded .38 special on his nightstand.

"I was so f*cking paranoid during that shoot," he continues. "If someone came into my house, I would have ended their f*cking life. When you’re in a head space where people want to get you, you think, ‘I’m going to defend myself.’" Trank notes that he returned the gun once production wrapped. 

It's awful to think that so much of the backlash was a result of Jordan's skin colour, and it was clearly rough on him and Trank seeing what people were saying online while they were shooting.

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tmp3
tmp3 - 5/6/2020, 6:52 AM
Josh Trank to indie directors offered a big studio project:
ComicBookPsycho
ComicBookPsycho - 5/6/2020, 6:54 AM
Those IMDB boards were the funniest, but also the most toxic place on this planet.

Not surprised that it got shutdown, but I'd damn lying, if I said I didn't miss them.
RageDriver2401
RageDriver2401 - 5/6/2020, 6:54 AM
Wtf is up with all the Josh Trank articles?
RageDriver2401
RageDriver2401 - 5/6/2020, 6:55 AM
@RageDriver2401 - ah never mind, Josh is milking that ONE article that Polygon posted.
https://www.polygon.com/2020/5/5/21246679/josh-trank-capone-interview-fantastic-four-chronicle
ComicBookPsycho
ComicBookPsycho - 5/6/2020, 6:55 AM
@RageDriver2401 -
RageDriver2401
RageDriver2401 - 5/6/2020, 6:56 AM
@ComicBookPsycho - I'm surprised he gets paid to make duplicate articles.
bkmeijer2
bkmeijer2 - 5/6/2020, 7:00 AM
I actually liked Jordan in the role. Too bad he just starred in a terrible movie. And the more I read from this interview I start to think that Trank might or might not be a psycho
marvel72
marvel72 - 5/6/2020, 7:02 AM
Too f*cking right,they do too much of this in Hollywood.

If you want a black actor in the movie,have a black character in it.

All this sex and race changing is a joke,Its not progression its pandering.
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