*Michael B. Jordan, through his Outlier Society TV deal at Amazon Studios, will turn the life of Muhammad Ali into a limited series with Jay-Z’s Roc Nation producing.
Jordan and Amazon Studios Head Jennifer Salke announced that they will be teaming up with Amazon Prime for the series tentatively titled “The Greatest,” and with the blessing of Ali’s estate.
“It’s an incredible honor and I bring tons of respect to it. It’s a healthy weight to carry, to be able to tell the story of Muhammad Ali,” Jordan revealed. “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. 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.”
Michael B. Jordan’s Outlier Society All In At Amazon: Muhammad Ali TV Series With Jay-Z’s Roc Nation, 1st Look Film Deal & ‘Without Remorse’ Franchise Hopes, And That Alexa Super Bowl Ad: MBJ & Jennifer Salke Explain The Ambition https://t.co/jl7JyQQi1s
— Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) February 8, 2021
The series is being written by Josh Wakely.
“Michael and I have been talking about this for a long time, way pre-pandemic,” Salke told Deadline. “It’s our quest at Amazon and my personal desire to make sure we are telling the kinds of stories that can entertain and inspire people all over the world. I looked at our slate and realized we needed to quickly escalate ourselves as a home for a curated group of artists who care about that same thing.
You can see in the upcoming slate the work that has been done in the past few years that shows where we’re going. When I started spending time with Michael and hearing what he wanted to do, I thought, he’s obviously a hugely talented actor but when I speak with him I feel like I do when I speak to someone like Nicole Kidman. He’s a producer, at heart. He has a huge vision and ambition for what he wants to build. It was directly in line with where I want to go. We had such shared values and excitement over what path to take. It really was about a meeting of the minds. It is such a great fit for Amazon to be a home for him. That’s how it started.”
Jordan added, “This is character driven and compelling,” he 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. 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.”
Read Jordan’s full interview exclusive with Deadline here.
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