FANTASTIC FOUR Casting Call Reveals Major Changes In Origin

This is one to take with a grain of salt. But if it’s true…hoo boy. Watch the backlash.

A site called Acting Auditions have posted what appears to be a casting notice for the new Fantastic Four reboot, and all roles are available except for Johnny Storm, which is listed as being filled by Michael B. Jordan.

As if the norm with these audition notices, they include a plot summary for the potential actors. This is how it reads:

Removed at studio request.

This is quite the change from the typical FF origin. Granted, the comic book origin needs to be change, as beating the Russians into space if not a valid enough reason to rush into a radiation storm with an improperly shielded ship anymore. But in the recent updates  to the origin–in the Ultimate Fantastic Four comic and the first set of Fantastic Four films–all four get their powers at the same time from the same source. This is a big thing because it help bond the quartet into a family. The four are forever inexorably linked by that event.

In this version, that unity is lost. Ben and Reed gain powers as teens (and it might not be Reed’s fault, taking away the guilt element that is a fundamental part of their relationship) and meet up with the Storms (who might not even be related) once they become adults.

And if that wasn’t enough to make fans angry, it appears that Reed’s genius will be a side effect of the event that gave him his powers, taking away yet another quality that made the character great–his native intelligence.

Again, this is just what the plot is on something that might be a casting announcement. The site itself has a long disclaimer that claims the stuff the post is not verified by the site. But if this is true, well, expect the rights to the FF to go back to Marvel before the decade is out.