Back in 2005, Fox produced a Fantastic Four movie that was simultaneously a superhero flick and an attempt at a parody of a superhero flick. It spawned an overall disappointing sequel (Rise of the Silver Surfer), and since then the property has remained untouched. Recently, Fox has unearthed those properties (probably because they’re about to lose the rights back to Marvel studios), and have decided to give it another go– hopefully something a little better than last time. The Fantastic Four have the unique quality of being a family team, as well as slightly older than the average group of superheroes. This film could have been the perfect opportunity for pulling in older viewers.

Unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to be how Fox (who has been hinting at an X-men/Fantastic Four crossover film if the latter is successful) is thinking with their casting and plot synopsis. Let’s start with the synopsis.  A report at acting-auditions.org states:

“The Fantastic Four’ will tell the story of two very young friends, Reed Richards and Ben Grimm. After an event transforms the boys, they find themselves empowered with bizarre new abilities. Reed becomes a scientific genius who can stretch, twist and re-shape his body to inhuman proportions. Ben becomes a monstrous, craggy humanoid with orange, rock-like skin and super strength. However, the two end up being owned by the government and used as weapons. But after they mature, two others with powers come into the picture – Sue Storm “The Invisible Girl” and Johnny Storm “The Human Torch.”

This deviates wildly from the original story of the Fantastic Four, where the Reed, Sue, Johnny, and Ben are astronauts on the same mission who get radiation poisoning. I know it’s enough to make me nervous about the movie, as straying so far from the source material often makes me question why they don’t just create an original story with original characters.

Fox has also released casting news, listing Miles Teller as Reed Richards, Cate Mara as Sue Storm, Michael B. Jordan as Johnny Storm, and Jaime Bell as Ben Grimm. There are a lot of interesting choices within this list, some causing a lot of controversy (and outright racism) within the larger moviegoing community, as Michael B. Jordan is playing a character who is typically drawn as white in the comic books.

This isn’t the first time something like this has happened– Samuel L. Jackson’s character Nick Fury was originally white, and his casting (even though it happened before the true explosion of comic book movies into the mainstream) caused a similar controversy within the comic book community. Now, everyone loves him; they’ve even based the character off of him in the Ultimate comic books.

Personally, I’m fine with Michael B. Jordan playing Johnny Storm; I’ll see the movie if the trailer looks any good. What worries me more is the skewing of the cast towards the younger side, as well as the major plot renovations. I’d rather they be true to the personality of the comic than the actual aesthetic or race of any individual character, especially when someone as talented as Michael B. Jordan is being considered the “problem.”