Fantastic Four was perhaps the biggest flop of 2015, and now Creed star Michael B. Jordan has talked in detail about the reboot and exactly why it all went so horribly wrong. Asked to reflect on the experience of shooting Fantastic Four, Jordan did his best to diplomatically weigh in on what it was like to go through such a difficult shoot and the backlash which followed.
“I look back at the film as a learning experience. Every film isn’t going to be a home run. Everybody involved didn’t set out to make a film that didn’t work. I think everybody wants to do the best job possible. I think it was a big education for me to realise that things aren’t in your control, and you can do everything you’re supposed to do.
You can give 110% every day, and the movie still not work out. But that may or may not be on you and you’ve got to be OK with that. Moving onto the next thing. For me, first thing off I had this project [Creed] coming on right after so it makes it a little bit easier to swallow.”
As for whether or not he’d like to return to the role in the admittedly unlikely Fantastic Four sequel, Jordan added:
“I’m not sure man. Honestly, there are so many things outside of the actor’s control. You know, as much as we want and we like these characters, and we like these worlds and stuff like that, we have such a small say in what goes on behind closed doors – all that other, extra stuff. Also, I love the character. I’m a big comic book fan, and that’s one of the reasons I wanted to do it in the first place. We’ll see what happens.”
With talk of a Deadpool sequel taking the place of Fantastic Four 2, it seems unlikely that Jordan will ever get the chance to play Johnny Storm again. After all, Josh Trank’s reboot was so bad that it’s hard to imagine moviegoers have any interest in spending time with these characters again, leaving Fox with a tough decision to make in regards to what to do with the property next.
Luckily for Jordan, Fantastic Four hasn’t damaged his career too badly, and the positive reviews for Creed certainly made his 2015 a lot better.