'Fantastic Four' Director Josh Trank Says He Wanted To Cast a Black Actress For Sue Storm
Josh Trank is opening up about his original ideas for 2015′s Fantastic Four and is regretting not fighting to cast a black actress for the role of Sue Storm.
While speaking with Geeks of Color, the filmmaker opened up about his regrets.
“There were a lot of controversial conversations that were had behind the scenes on that. I was mostly interested in a black Sue Storm, a black Johnny Storm, and a black Franklin Storm,” he shared with the site. “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. ‘Maybe it’ll be Margot Robbie,’ or something like that.”
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 realization sort of hit me, and I feel embarrassed about that, that I didn’t just out of principle. Because those aren’t the values I stand for in my own life; those weren’t the values then or ever for me.”
He adds, “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.
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