LOS ANGELES: "Fantastic Four" director Josh Trank says he got "heavy pushback" from the producers for trying to cast a black actor as Sue Storm.
In the 2015 film, which was a box office debacle, Kate Mara played Sue Storm, Michael B Jordan portrayed Johnny Storm, Miles Teller played Reed Richards and Jamie Bell was Ben Grimm.
"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 a video interview with Geeks of Color.
"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. When it came down to it, I found a lot of pretty heavy pushback on casting a black woman in that role," the filmmaker added.
Trank said when he looks back he feels embarrassed about sticking to the project, because those are not the "values" he stands for.
"I'm somebody who always talks about standing up for what I believe in, even if it means burning my career out, and I feel bad that I didn't take it to the mat with that issue. I feel like I failed in that regard."