Flaming mad: Michael B. Jordan weary of answering 'Fantastic Four' questions'

AFTER a full day fielding questions about playing Johnny Storm in "The Fantastic Four," Michael B. Jordan was bushed.

"I spoke my piece," said Jordan, referring to a magazine essay he wrote about crossing racial lines to play the character.

Stan Lee has endorsed Jordan's casting whole-heartedly, but some fans have objected to a black actor being cast to play a character who was white in the comics.

What does Jordan think of the controversy online?

"I honestly couldn't tell you. I haven't really been paying attention."

He brightened, though, when asked about his role in the upcoming "Rocky" spinoff, "Creed," in which he has the title role as son of the late champ Apollo Creed. The movie has a new trailer, and an auspicious Thanksgiving Day release date.

Scenes were shot earlier this year in Philadelphia (also New Orleans and L.A.), where Jordan spent time during the production.

"Philadelphia was an awesome city to work in, and I was happy to be there. I know the city pretty well," said Jordan, whose mother studied graphic design here, and whose sister attended Temple University.

"I'm from Newark. I'm an East Coast guy. I know how the city feels about 'Rocky,' and that's why I was excited that so much of the movie was shot there. ['Rocky'] is a movie that helped redfine the city, and inspired so many generations of boxers. It was great to be a part of it, and the city welcomed me with open arms."

Jordan plays Adonis Creed, a young guy with a famous father who nonetheless grew up poor, cut off from the wealth his father accumulated, but heir to the enormous expectations that come with a famous name.

He decides to confront those expectations head on, to make his fortune in the ring and enlists the help of long-retired Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone).

Stallone has never been shy about making "Rocky" sequels, but Jordan said that after "Rocky Balboa," the fifth sequel, Stallone was ready to leave the franchise alone.

He was swayed only by intense lobbying from "Creed" writer-director Ryan Coogler, who directed Jordan in "Fruitvale Station," the accomplished independent film about the notorious Bay Area police shooting of Oscar Grant, played by Jordan.

"Ryan came up with this idea a long time ago," Jordan said. "He told me about it even before we were shooting 'Fruitvale Station.' So, I'd known about it a long time, and I'd known how passionate Ryan was about the project, how personal it was to Ryan, and to his dad. This goes way back with Ryan."

Coogler was able to convey that passion to Stallone.

"At first Sly was kind of reluctant to be a part of it, to sign off on it," Jordan said. "His feeling was that 'Rocky' had run its course. But Ryan's vision was such a fresh take on it, a fresh way of looking at familiar characters, and the storytelling was so organic and genuine, Stallone become interested. There was some massaging of the material by Sly and his people, but he was on board.

"And once Sly was on board, everything fell into place incredibly quickly. From pitching it to production - that almost never happens."

The next thing Jordan knew, he was running down 9th Street, sporting an Apollo Creed mustache and a grey Rocky hoodie, a camera retreating in front of him as he recreated the famous Rocky run.

"It was surreal. And definitely an honor to know I was returning to the same streets, taking the same steps that Rocky took. Truly an honor."

Jordan said he and Coogler and Stallone view this as less a sequel than a spinoff, a chance to build new movies around a new character.

"He's a guy, Adonis, who's trying to figure out who he is," said Jordan. "His father is Apollo Creed, and that casts a really big shadow, and it's hard for Adonis, being that he's illegitimate, so that puts him in a weird spot, trying to pursue the career of his father."

Adonis' experiences in the ring, he said, help him sort out feelings about his father. He gets additional help from a devoted mother (Phylicia Rashad) and girlfriend (Tessa Thompson).

And of course his new corner man.

"Sly is my trainer, my Mickey."

Jordan said that the creative team views "Creed" as a "starting-off point" for additional films.

"That's why I'm staying in shape, so when it's time to get back to it, I'll be ready," said Jordan, who endured a grueling physical regimen and diet to bulk up for the role.

"Definitely harder than growing the mustache."