"The New Johnny Storm"

Courtesy of comicvine.com

In case you haven't heard, there's been a bit of controversy surrounding the recent announcement  form 20th Century Fox that up and coming actor Michael B. Jordan, best know for this roles in the action film "Chronicle" as well as the highly acclaimed "Fruitvale Station", Is set to take on the role of comic book wise guy Johnny Storm a.k.a. The "Human Torch" in Marvel's reboot of the "Fantastic Four" film franchise.

Courtesy of aceshowbiz.com

What's the big deal, you ask? Well if you've see either of the films I've just mentioned, then you undoubtedly have noticed that actor Michael B. Jordan is African-American, while the character of Johnny Storm has traditionally  been portrayed as Caucasian-American - most recently played by Marvel's "The Avengers" star, Chris Evans.

Courtesy of thefilmstage.com

Though Jordan has shown himself to be a noteworthy and versatile actor, as well as a heck of ballplayer if you had occasion to watch this years celebrity all-star basketball game, this doesn't account for the potential plot problems that may arise form his casting. Most notably among these that Johnny's Storm's teammate and sibling, Sue Storm, reported to be played by actress Kate Mara, raise questions about how the powers that be intend to portray their parentage precluding any chance, at least in all likelihood, of the two being biological relatives. While such a change may not exactly be a deal breaker for the average Joe, I can't imagine that a re-write of this magnitude will go over well with the die-hard fan boys of the series.

As I expected when I first got word that Jordan was up for the part of Storm, the announcement has garnered a fair amount of controversy since entertainment site IGN confirmed the casting this Thursday via Facebook. The comments ranged from the optimistic with one reader posting: "The guy playing Storm is a pretty good actor. I think he can be great." to the puzzled: "So...The Human Torch is adopted?"

Whatever the screenwriters have in store for moviegoers remains to be seen, but this isn't the first time comic book fans have witnessed long-standing white roles portrayed by black actors. 2003's "Daredevil", starring Ben Affleck and Colin Farrell, saw the emergence of the late Michael Clarke Duncan in the role of ruthless New York crime boss Wilson Fisk a.k.a. "The Kingpin". While the film was met with generally negative reviews, director Mark Johnson was able to construct a tale with enough cinematic drama and well-paced action to keep most of the genre faithful at bay, in large part due to Duncan's convincing portrayal. Other notable hero castings to blur racial lines are Samuel L. Jackson's performance as Nick Fury, in Joss Whedon's 2012 blockbuster "Marvel's The Avengers" as well as Jamie Foxx's role as the hoodie wearing Electro in the upcoming "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" set to be released later this year.

At the end of the day, the take away from this shouldn't be an over-focus on what some may see as a wonton disregard for the tradional appearence of our favorite heroes, but rather that there no longer seems to be a racial criteria when it comes to casting leading roles for major Hollywood studios. There are many that would herald these moments as a step in the right direction, myself among them. Just don't be surprised  when Marvel releases their next entry in the "Blade" film series...starring Josh Brolin. Just kidding...or am I?