‘Fantastic Four’ Director Josh Trank Originally Pitched A Black Sue Storm

Director Josh Trank has revealed that he originally pitched a black Sue Storm for the “Fantastic Four” reboot, but his idea was turned down.

In 2015, the “Fantastic Four” reboot starring Miles Teller, Michael B. Jordan, Kate Mara and Jamie Bell was released. Mara played the role of Sue Storm or Invisible Woman, which was portrayed by Jessica Alba in the original film.

According to Trank, he originally wanted a black actress for the female superhero. However, he received “heavy pushback,” since the sibling superheroes Invisible Woman/Sue Storm and Human Torch/Johnny Storm were drawn as white people in the Marvel comics. But in the film version, Sue was Johnny’s adopted sister.

“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,” Trank said in an interview.

“But when you’re dealing with a studio on a massive movie like that, everybody wants to keep an open mind to who the big stars are going to be. ‘Maybe it’ll be Margot Robbie,’ or something like that. When it came down to it, I found a lot of pretty heavy pushback on casting a Black woman in that role,” he added.

Trank still took the project, but five years later realized that he should have walked away after realizing that it didn’t align with his personal values. He felt embarrassed about having still taken on the project.

“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,” he added.

“Those aren’t the values I stand for in my own life; those weren’t the values then, or ever, for me. 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,” he explained.

In related news, Russell Wilson also shared his encounter with a racist person in 2014 after winning the Super Bowl. According to him, one person approached him and told him, “That’s not for you.”

“That was a heavy moment for me right there. I was like, man, this is really still real, and I’m on the West Coast. This is really real right now. That really pained my heart,” Wilson said about the incident.