Joseph Quinn has said his portrayal of Johnny Storm in the upcoming The Fantastic Four: First Steps will not be of a “womanising, devil may care guy”.
In previous iterations of the character – whose alter ego is Human Torch – he has been represented as a brash, cocky wise-cracker and a playboy. Chris Evans played him in the pair of Fantastic Four movies released in the 2000s, while Michael B. Jordan reprised the role in the 2015 reboot, which was a box office flop.
This time around, it appears that Marvel have opted to tone down some of the more abrasive elements of the character, with Quinn – who rose to fame playing Eddie Munson in Stranger Things – giving his reasoning to Entertainment Weekly.
“He’s a man that leads with a lot of bravado, which can be an affront sometimes. But also he’s funny,” he said. “Myself and [Marvel boss] Kevin [Feige] were speaking about previous iterations of him and where we are culturally. He was branded as this womanizing, devil-may-care guy, but is that sexy these days? I don’t think so.”
“This version of Johnny is less callous with other people’s feelings, and hopefully there’s a self-awareness about what’s driving that attention-seeking behavior,” he added.
Quinn stars in The Fantastic Four: First Steps alongside Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby and The Bear’s Ebon Moss-Bachrach. It marks the first time the quartet have been incorporated into the Marvel Cinematic Universe and will be released on July 25.
Directed by Matt Shakman (WandaVision), the Fantastic Four are forced to protect their 1960s-inspired retro-futuristic world from the planet-devouring cosmic being Galactus (Ralph Ineson).
Elsewhere, Quinn has been officially announced as playing George Harrison in the forthcoming quartet of Beatles biopics, directed by Sam Mendes. Paul Mescal will play Paul McCartney, Harris Dickinson is John Lennon and Barry Keoghan portrays Ringo Starr.
The films will tell the story of the Fab Four’s unprecedented success, with each movie depicting it from a different member’s point of view. They are expected to be released in April 2028.