Michael B. Jordan’s Super Bowl ad for Amazon looks to have signaled the beginning of a much bigger partnership as it was recently revealed the actor’s Outlier Society production company has signed a television and first-look film deal with Amazon Studios.
In an exclusive interview with Deadline, the Black Panther actor and Amazon Studios Head Jennifer Salke said the new deal will include Outlier Society producing a limited series on the life of Muhammad Ali for the company’s streaming division. The series, which will see Jay-Z’s Roc Nation coming on board as co-executive producers, is being written by Josh Wakely. Ali’s estate is also said to be involved in the series’ development.
“It’s an incredible honor and I bring tons of respect to it,” Jordan, 34, said. “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,” he said.
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“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. I’m really excited about it, as a boxing enthusiast and since this is the world I’ve been living in the past five or six years with the Creed franchise. To be able to honor Muhammad Ali and elaborate on his legacy is something I’m really excited about, and I know Jen and Amazon are as well.”
Though there have been some Muhammad Ali biographical films, Jordan said this upcoming project is going to be different as it’s going to delve much deeper into the life of the legendary boxer.
“This is character driven and compelling,” Jordan said. “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.”
While Jordan, who played the lead role in the Creed boxing film series may be very comfortable with portraying the “World’s Greatest” in the upcoming project, he said he’ll be sitting this one out.
“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,” he said. “We are still putting the pieces together, but it feels like something to look forward to in the future.”
