Michael B. Jordan has announced that his production company, Outlier Society, will partner with Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter's Roc Nation to produce a television series based on the life of Muhammad Ali. Initial reports indicate that the project will be a limited series led by Amazon Studios and assisted by the help of Ali's estate. At this time, there is no information regarding the cast. Despite Jordan's experience playing Adonis Creed in the Creed franchise, he will look to find another character to play the role of Muhammad Ali. Meanwhile, Josh Wakely will write the script for the series. Wakely has found success working on animated children's series like Motown Magic and Beat Bugs.
“It’s an incredible honor and I bring tons of respect to [the series],” Jordan told Deadline in an exclusive interview.
“It’s a healthy weight to carry, to be able to tell the story of Muhammad Ali. It’s called The Greatest right now and we’re partnered with Roc Nation on the music side of things. It’s a project where we’ve partnered with the estate and we’ll be able to tell this story with no red tape. It’s a limited series that will really dive into the life of Muhammad Ali. I’m not going to be too specific beyond that, but we’ll be able to get to know him in ways we haven’t had a chance to before."
Hollywood has plans to bring some of the biggest stars in boxing history to the screen over the next few years. Mahershala Ali will star as Jack Johnson in Unruly on HBO. Also, Jamie Foxx will reportedly play Mike Tyson in a feature film. Not to mention, Jordan is reportedly directing the next Creed film starring himself and Tessa Thompson. With that said, Jordan plans to look at Ali's life outside of the world of boxing in this series. Ali built his legacy not only as an all-time great heavyweight, but he was also a talented orator and civil rights activist.
“This is character-driven and compelling,” Jordan added.
"People know Muhammad Ali from his boxing days, but this is an opportunity to go beyond the ring, and more into the man. It’s going to give more of a 360-degree view of who he was. And no, I’m not playing that guy, I can say that for sure, and we are still in early stages here and can’t say too much. We are still putting the pieces together, but it feels like something to look forward to in the future.”
There is no projected release date for the series yet.
Photo Credit: Getty Images