Ryan Reynolds, like many observers before him, has chimed in on the failure of Fox’s “Fantastic Four,” but is most frustrated with the fact that the flop may hit Michael B. Jordan the hardest among his castmates.
“You know, Miles Teller‘s gonna recover,” said Reynolds in an interview with GQ. “Miles Teller‘s gonna go on to do amazing things, you know. It’s important that Michael B. Jordan continues to go on and do amazing things.”
Once Jordan was announced as the next Johnny Storm (a.k.a. the Human Torch), original “Fantastic Four” fans were quick to express their disapproval of his casting in a role historically drawn in comics and portrayed on screen as white.
Reynolds drew upon his own experience, noting the critical and commercial failure of “The Green Lantern.” However, he’s enjoyed a number of high-profile roles since, including the hotly anticipated “Deadpool,” due out next year. While Reynolds thinks the cast of “Fantastic Four” can recover from their own disappointment, he worries for Jordan’s future in a Hollywood that’s harder on black and female actors.
“I know it’s not easy for a black actor,” said Reynolds. “It’s not easy for a female actor … That entire cast is amazingly talented. And I wouldn’t wish that on anybody. I mean, I know what that feels like. It doesn’t feel good.”
“Fantastic Four” made $55.7 million at the box office, and suffered even more with critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film received a meager 9 percent positive rating and got slammed by reviewers, who called it “an epic fail” and “a mess.”
Reynolds also recounted a recent falling out with a lifelong friend who sold photos of his daughter, James, to the press.
“A guy that I’d known for my whole life, one of my closest friends growing up, he had been shopping pictures of my baby around,” Reynolds said. “I kind of got in front of it, which is good. But it was a slightly dark period. A bad couple of weeks.”
Reynolds played Deadpool in the 2009 film “X-Men Origins: Wolverine.” Now, the actor reprises the role in “Deadpool,” set to be released on Feb. 12, 2016, by Marvel Enterprises and Twentieth Century Fox.