Free Newsletter
Listen to this articleFantastic Four, a contemporary re-imagining of Marvel’s original and longest-running superhero team, centers on four young outsiders who teleport to an alternate and dangerous universe, which alters their physical form in shocking ways. Their lives irrevocably upended, the team must learn to harness their daunting new abilities and work together to save Earth from a former friend turned enemy.
The film stars Miles Teller (Whiplash) as Reed Richards, Michael B. Jordan (Fruitvale Station, Chronicle) as Johnny Storm, Kate Mara (Netflix’s House of Cards) as Sue Storm, and Jamie Bell (Billy Elliot, AMC’s Turn) as Ben Grimm.
The filmmakers wanted an ensemble cast that would embody characters rooted in contemporary reality and social mores.
One of the characters, Johnny Storm, is a young, hotshot adventure-seeker who wants nothing to do with his father, Dr. Storm’s, science program. But when he gets in trouble during a street racing accident, Johnny becomes an unwilling participant in the Baxter Institute’s latest project. Following the botched mission, Johnny is transformed into a human, flying fireball. Unlike the others, however, Johnny is the quickest to adapt to and relish his new powers.
Director Josh Trank relates that Johnny embodies a little bit of the “boss’s son syndrome.” “Dr. Storm, the head of the Baxter Institute, is a very smart guy, but Johnny has a problem with him because his dad pays so much more attention to every other student around Johnny. So there’s resentment, and Johnny doesn’t want to follow in his footsteps. Even though he has a high I.Q. along with the drive, he would rather just have fun and do what he wants.”
Adds screenwriter Simon Kinberg: “All of the flash that happens before and after Johnny is transformed into the Human Torch just masks what is underneath, which is a young man who wants attention from his father. He’s a kid that grew up with a father who was a parent to tons of students and in some ways didn’t have the focus to be the parent of his own son. So he’s pulled away from his dad.
Kinberg continues, “In some ways, Johnny is the funniest, liveliest, and wildest of the Four; he’s the one most people want to be. Just the notion of a guy who can set himself on fire and fly is just naturally appealing, but he’s also sort of a ladies’ man and a little cocky. All of those things conspire to him being considered the ‘movie star’ of the Four. What’s great is we found Michael B. Jordan, who really pulls it off.”
The filmmakers also note that Jordan brought essential depth to the character. “Michael has the cockiness and the showman qualities; he can play all of that. But there’s also a humanity, a slight wounded feeling or vulnerability to Michael that brings additional dimensions to Johnny Storm,” Kinberg elaborates.
Jordan recalls that the idea of him playing Johnny Storm happened soon after he completed working on Chronicle. “Josh said, ‘I’m up for Fantastic Four,’” Jordan remembers. “I said something along the lines of ‘Yeah, you better cast me as Johnny,’ and then we laughed and didn’t say anything else about it. Then he called me a few months later and said, ‘You know, I think this could happen.’”
Jordan notes that having the opportunity to play a character with special powers in Chronicle was “kind of like the appetizer” for Fantastic Four. “I wanted to go full-on and take on a character that already existed. And I think the grounded nature of Fantastic Four appealed to me because it’s just so relatable; you care about the characters. For me, Johnny Storm is The One. He’s charismatic and very passionate about life. He’s optimistic and wants to be taken very seriously, but he has a light-hearted nature about him, so there’s a balance.”
The film also is a coming-of-age story and a journey of self-discovery for the Four, as they must mature and deal with their new abilities. “Johnny looks at this as a big opportunity to finally find his purpose,” Jordan adds. “For Johnny, who is an adrenaline junkie, this may be his calling.”
