Tag: Michael B. Jordan

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Warner Bros. Wins Bidding War For Period Genre Flick That Reunites Ryan Coogler & Michael B. Jordan With Filming Starting In April

Warner Bros. has beat Universal Pictures to land the next big project from director Ryan Coogler (“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”) as his untitled film will see the successful director reunite with actor Michael B. Jordan. The news hails from Deadline after a heated bidding war that saw a group of studios and streamers vying for the mysterious genre film that Coogler will also write.

While there have been reports of the project centering around vampires, none of these new trade reports commenting on the deal are mentioning that aspect as plot details are still being kept under lock and key. But, the period genre aspect is indeed in place. Production is reportedly set to begin as early as this April in New Orleans, a setting that has indeed been used for vampires and other horror-focused ghoulies.

The pair have worked together on “Creed” (Michael B. Jordan is said to be gearing up to direct “Creed 4”), “Black Panther” as the rising talent played the film’s compelling villain Erik Killmonger with Jordan making a brief cameo in “Wakanda Forever” as the fallen baddie, and got their start together on “Frutivale Station.” Alongside this project, Jordan is said to be reprising the John Clark role in “Rainbow Six” from director Chad Stahelski (“John Wick” franchise) once he wraps up his “Highlander” remake at Lionsgate and is attached for an “I Am Legend” sequel at Warners that is expected to involve Will Smith.

Coogler hasn’t telegraphed his future film plans at Marvel Studios, but there has been some expectation after a bit of a break he’ll be ready to return to direct or simply write/produce “Black Panther 3” for Marvel Studios given the franchise’s popularity under his creative stewardship.

We’ll have to be patient for the film’s title and release date but being released in 2025 is a good prospect given the upcoming shoot.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Posted on in Film News, News

Antoine Fuqua Open To Hypothetical ‘Equalizer’ Prequel Starring Michael B. Jordan Or John David Washington As Young Robert McCall

This week sees the third installment of the feature film incarnation of “The Equalizer” with both star Denzel Washington and director Antoine Fuqua reuniting for an Italian-set sequel that sees Robert McCall going up against the local mafia after going head-to-head with the Russian mob in Boston for the first pic.

During the press tour for “The Equalizer 3,” Fuqua spoke with genre outlet JoBlo earlier in the month where they brought up the idea of a Robert McCall prequel focusing on a younger version of the skilled former government operator. Fuqua seemed game to the idea and mentioned the hypothetical casting of Michael B. Jordan (“Black Panther,” “Creed III”) before the interviewer brought up Denzel’s actor son, John David Washington (“Tenet,” “The Creator”) which the filmmaker agreed was a better pick.

When we asked Fuqua what he thought about developing an Equalizer prequel, he agreed it would be an idea worth exploring.

“I think it’s a really good idea to do that, and go back,” Fuqua said. “You can get Michael B. Jordan or somebody to be the young McCall.”

To which JoBlo’s own Chris Bumbray then suggested, “Why not John David [Washington]?”

“Even better, right,” Fuqua replied. “Wouldn’t that be amazing?” After a brief pause, Fuqua added, “That’s a good idea! How cool would that be, man?”

There aren’t current plans at Sony to make a prequel, however, that might be a good way to go if they want to keep things rolling. Screenwriter Richard Wenk has been writing these films and could be relied upon to develop a prequel that very well could take place in the 1980s or 1990s. Clearly, hiring younger actors that could fill those shoes would be preferable to CGI de-aging technology that is getting better, but just not good enough.

To which JoBlo’s own Chris Bumbray then suggested, “Why not John David [Washington]?” “Even better, right,” Fuqua replied. “Wouldn’t that be amazing?” After a brief pause, Fuqua added, “That’s a good idea! How cool would that be, man?”

Sony Pictures’ official synopsis for “The Equalizer 3” reads as follows:

Since giving up his life as a government assassin, Robert McCall (Denzel Washington) has struggled to reconcile the horrific things he’s done in the past and finds a strange solace in serving justice on behalf of the oppressed. Finding himself surprisingly at home in Southern Italy, he discovers his new friends are under the control of local crime bosses. As events turn deadly, McCall knows what he has to do: become his friends’ protector by taking on the mafia.

“The Equalizer 3” opens in theaters on September 1 and will see Washington share some screentime with “Man On Fire” co-star Dakota Fanning.

SOURCE: JO BLO

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Michael B. Jordan Developing New ‘Superman’ Project At HBO Max That Will Focus On Val-Zod

It’s been long rumored that Michael B. Jordan was in the mix for a new Superman project at Warner Bros. and it looks like the details have finally been revealed thanks to a new report from the folks over at Collider.

Michael B. Jordan and his production company Outlier Society are developing their own Black Superman project for HBO Max that centers on the Val-Zod incarnation of the character, Collider has exclusively learned.

However, despite having an unnamed writer working on this new Val-Zod Superman project, they’re not entirely sure if this will end up a series or film. DC Comics adaptations at HBO Max have been both series and films, making it’s difficult to get a beat on what is happening with this new Superman thing. Films focused on Zatanna and Batgirl are moving forward alongside series such as Peacemaker, Gotham P.D., Green Lantern, a Constantine reboot, Justice League Dark, and more.

Jordan is also involved with a live-action Static Shock film as well. The actor is attached to star in a Rainbow Six movie as a follow-up to Without Remorse and will lead the second remake of The Thomas Crown Affair for AGBO (The Russo Brothers’ production company).

Warner Bros. is also developing a new Superman feature film with a script from writer Ta-Nehisi Coates and producer J.J. Abrams via Bad Robot. Coates is best-known for his work on the fantastic modern run of Black Panther comics for Marvel. This film would be separate from the HBO Max incarnation from Michael B. Jordan.

Having two new Superman projects in the works and Sasha Calle’s Supergirl making her debut in The Flash (A solo Supergirl film has been in development for years now), could mean that WarnerMedia is open to the idea of many different Superman incarnations happening all at once.

SOURCE: COLLIDER

Posted on in Film News

Jonathan Majors In Talks To Play Adonis’ Opponent In ‘Creed 3’ – Will Be Michael B. Jordan’s Directorial Debut

Michael B. Jordan is making the jump to director with MGM’s Creed III while continuing to play Adonis, the son of Apollo Creed from the iconic Rocky movies. The last two movies had Sly Stallone reprising Rocky for the spinoff, but has announced that he won’t be involved with this new film.

It looks like they’ve found an actor to play Adonis’ next opponent as Deadline reports that Jonathan Majors is currently in negotiations for the role. Majors got awareness thanks to roles in Spike Lee’s Da 5 Bloods, White Boy Rick, and HBO’s Lovecraft Country. He is officially is playing Kang The Conqueror in Marvel’s Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania as announced by Kevin Feige back in December.

It honestly wouldn’t hurt for Jordan and MGM to hire a seasoned actor to star opposite given that might be considered a weakness with the last two movies. It’s hard to really care about the actors who play Adonis’ opponents as they don’t have the same character that you’d expect.

Quantumania will begin shooting in a couple of weeks in the United Kingdom.

Jonathan Majors recently wrapped on the Korean War film Devotion, directed by J.D. Dillard.

Amazon recently acquired MGM Studios for a massive $8.45 billion.

The sport drama is set to be released by MGM on November 23, 2022.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Posted on in Film News

Michael B. Jordan Admits He “Bombed” His ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ Audition & Still Open To Reprise ‘Black Panther’ Villain Erik Killmonger

Michael B. Jordan is certainly is a different place in his career after two installments of Creed with a third on the way as he’ll make his feature film directorial debut on Creed III. He also got Marvel redemption after playing Johnny Storm in Fox’s Fantastic Four reboot only to play the complex villain Erik Killmonger in Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther.

Jordan is attempting to launch another franchise with Tom Clancy’s Without Remorse, set directly within the Jack Ryan universe and is attached to reprise his role in a Rainbow Six movie based on the Clancy novel. The new action film is currently playing on Amazon Prime Video and the actor is making the press rounds to promote it.

While speaking on the Variety podcast Just For Variety with Mark Malkin (via The Playlist), the actor revealed not everything has gone his way during his Hollywood journey as he recalls completely messing up an audition for a role in Star Wars: The Force Awakens with J.J. Abrams himself in the room.

JORDAN: “It was probably the Star Wars’ audition that I had with JJ [Abrams], I think. It just wasn’t my best. It was probably my worst to date. I just couldn’t wrap my brain around some of the sides. When you’re reading for these high-level projects, there’s never really any specificity in the sides. Everything is super gray and a secret. Reading it through, I just couldn’t connect it. Definitely bombed that one, for sure.”

I think he’s recovered from that experience and might potentially have a sigh of relief after the publicly frustrating experience cast members of the recent Star Wars trilogy were exposed to on and off the set. Notably, the racism that John Boyega and Kelly Marie Tran faced from so-called “fans” alongside what looked to be both their roles being trimmed at certain points in the trilogy by the studio.

Speaking of Black Panther, Entertainment Tonight also interviewed Jordan and brought up the possibility of him reprising the role of Erik Killmonger (died in last film) at some point. We know that Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is set to shoot this July in Atlanta and could likely conflict with the pre-production/filming of Creed III as Jordan will direct and star making it difficult for him to have a significant role in the Marvel sequel.

JORDAN: “There’s always a love I have for those characters and Erik is definitely one of those that means a lot to me. So only if it’s the right thing and it’s impactful and if I could add something to it. If it means something then, yeah, I wanna be a part of that journey, you know?”

SOURCE: JUST FOR VARIETY & ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT

Posted on in Film News

Sly Stallone Confirms He Won’t Be Appearing In Michael B. Jordan-Directed ‘Creed 3’ & Teases ‘Rocky’ Prequel Series

There was some exciting news concerning Creed 3 as MGM had decided to get Michael B. Jordan, the star of the spinoff of Sly Stallone’s Rocky franchise, would be making his feature film directorial debut on the third installment. They’ve already given the sequel a release date of November 23, 2022.

However, there is an update from Sly Stallone stating he’s unlikely gong to play Rocky Balboa again for it. In an exchange with a fan on Instagram (spotted by JoBlo), Stallone revealed he wouldn’t be reprising the role of Rocky Balboa in Creed 3. This echoes previous suggestions made by the actor on social media that Creed II was going to be the last one he would be involved with.

STALLONE: “It will be done but I won’t be in It. Keep punching.”

Interestingly enough, a week ago Stallone teased a pitch he was coming together for a Rocky prequel series.

STALLONE: “This may be the strangest posting yet. I started out this morning by writing a treatment for a Rocky prequel For streaming. Ideally 10 episodes for a few seasons to really get to the heart of the Characters in there younger years – Here is a small portion of how my creative writing Process starts…Hope it happens – And then I needed to clear my head so I went fishing… Talk about extremes!”

Stallone voices King Shark in James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad coming out on August 6, 2021.

SOURCE: SLY STALLONE

Posted on in Film News

Michael B. Jordan Officially Making Directorial Debut With ‘Creed III’ – MGM Sets Release For November 23rd, 2022

Yesterday, MGM announced via Variety that Michael B. Jordan will make his feature film directorial debut with Creed III. Jordan playing Adonis Creed in the previous two films will reprise the role with Tessa Thompson and Phylicia Rashad expected to return as well.

Jordan stars in the boxing franchise as Adonis “Creed” Johnson, son of the fallen boxing champion Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) — Rocky Balboa’s (Sylvester Stallone) former foe turned friend, who was killed in a match versus Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren) in Rocky IV.

The script comes from Keenan Coogler (Space Jam: A New Legacy) and Zack Baylin (King Richard) that is based on an outline from producer Ryan Coogler.

MGM has given Creed III a release date of November 23rd, 2022 which would suggest a fall or winter production start.

CREED II – In 1985, Russian boxer Ivan Drago killed former U.S. champion Apollo Creed in a tragic match that stunned the world. Against the wishes of trainer Rocky Balboa, Apollo’s son Adonis Johnson accepts a challenge from Drago’s son — another dangerous fighter. Under guidance from Rocky, Adonis trains for the showdown of his life — a date with destiny that soon becomes his obsession. Now, Johnson and Balboa must confront their shared legacy as the past comes back to haunt each man.

SOURCE: VARIETY

Posted on in Film News

‘Without Remorse’: Watch Trailer For Michael B. Jordan’s Action Flick Set In The ‘Jack Ryan’ Universe – Drops April 30th On Amazon

Tom Clancy’s Without Remorse, or simply Without Remorse, is an upcoming American action thriller film directed by Stefano Sollima and written by Taylor Sheridan and Will Staples. It is based on the 1993 novel of the same name by Tom Clancy and a spin-off of the Jack Ryan film series. The film tells the origin story of John Kelly (aka John Clark), a U.S. Navy SEAL, who uncovers an international conspiracy while seeking justice for the murder of his pregnant wife by Russian soldiers. When Kelly joins forces with fellow SEAL Karen Greer and shadowy CIA agent Robert Ritter, the mission unwittingly exposes a covert plot that threatens to engulf the U.S. and Russia in an all-out war.

Expanding the Jack Ryan universe created by author Tom Clancy seems to be a priority to Paramount and Without Remorse will allow them to give John Clark a string of his own films. When Michael B. Jordan was originally cast in the John Clark role he was attached for their Rainbow Six movie as well.

There is also a possibility we might eventually see Jordan’s Clark and John Krasinski’s Jack Ryan eventually cross paths.

Without Remorse will debut April 30th on Amazon’s Prime Video.

SOURCE: AMAZON

Posted on in Film News

J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot To Produce ‘Superman’ Reboot With ‘Black Panther’s Ta-Nehisi Coates Penning The Script

Deadline has breaking news that Warner Bros. is looking to reboot their iconic Superman franchise with a script from writer Ta-Nehisi Coates and producer J.J. Abrams via Bad Robot. Coates is best-known for his work on the fantastic modern run of Black Panther comics for Marvel.

Deadline has confirmed that author Ta-Nehisi Coates is writing a Superman reboot feature for Warner Bros and DC, which J.J. Abrams is producing under his Bad Robot label.

Funny, it’s being called a “reboot” and Deadline mentions Henry Cavill, but if it’s a hard-reboot that would likely mean he’s not going to be in it. The addition of Coates would give the impression they might be going with a different take on the DC hero.

They point out that Coates is working with Ryan Coolger and Michael B. Jordan on the film Wrong Answer, the connection to Jordan is certainly interesting given rumblings he wanted to play a new version of Superman.

Could that Michael B. Jordan/Superman casting rumor come true?

Variety mentioned in a report last year that Jordan pitched a Superman project.

To help find a way to make Superman relevant to modern audiences, studio brass has been polling lots of high-profile talent. There have been discussions with J.J. Abrams, whose company Bad Robot recently signed a massive first-look deal with the studio, and there was a meeting with Michael B. Jordan earlier this year with the “Creed” star pitching Warners on a vision for the character. However, Jordan isn’t ready to commit to taking on the project since filming doesn’t seem likely to happen for several years and he has a full dance card of projects. Insiders think that a new Superman film is unlikely to hit screens before 2023, given that there’s no script and no director attached.

UPDATE: The Hollywood Reporter has chimed-in and Warner Bros. are reportedly indeed looking to introduce a black Superman in the reboot. They certainly have options with Steel’s John Henry Irons, Val-Zod, and Calvin Ellis established in the comic books. Given Coates is writing the reboot and his history with Black Panther it’s hard to imagine this won’t have a black Superman.

According to sources, the project is being set up as a Black Superman story. This is something that the studio has been trying to wrap its head around for months, if not a year or two. Michael B. Jordan tried to develop a Black Superman project when he first arrived at the studio with his deal in 2019, but that did not go very far at the time, according to sources. It is possible that the studio could return to him to star down the line.

It’s worth mentioning Michael B. Jordan is producing a film for the studio based on the DC Comics hero Static Shock.

This news comes after Warner Bros. has been developing a new solo Supergirl film from The Cloverfield Paradox (produced by Abrams) screenwriter Oren Uziel and the studio recently hiring Sasha Calle in the role, making her big screen debut in The Flash.

It’ll be interesting to see if Henry Cavill ultimately comes back to the Superman role as the chances of that seem to be getting smaller with Supergirl entering the picture and this reboot from Bad Robot now in development.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Posted on in Film News

Michael B. Jordan Won’t Say If He’ll Appear In ‘Black Panther 2’ But Keen On Returning To The Franchise

There have been multiple unconfirmed rumors that Michael B. Jordan’s Erik Killmonger would be returning for Black Panther 2, however, this has yet to be supported officially.

Michael B. Jordan today spoke with ABC’s Good Morning America while promoting his upcoming Amazon action flick Without Remorse. During his chat with the morning show, he was asked if he’d return for the sequel but wasn’t confirming his involvement while reaffirming a previous desire to return to the Black Panther franchise and Marvel Cinematic Universe if asked by the studio.

JORDAN: “I can’t say too much about that one, man. Honestly, with the year that we’ve had and the loss of a dear friend. They were figuring out whatever they need to do or what’s best for the franchise. They’re family, so if I ever have the opportunity to get back into that franchise, I would.”

Marvel Studios and Ryan Coolger have yet to reveal what their ultimate plan would be in the wake of the death of Chadwick Boseman, as Kevin Feige has repeatedly said they wouldn’t recast the T’Challa role or use a digital-double.

Fans have speculated the Multiverse could open the door to heroic (also alive) incarnation of Killmonger, allowing the character to take the franchise reigns from T’Challa. However, this is only a theory as characters such as Shuri and M’Baku have also been fan-favorites to take the mantle.

Coolger is developing multiple series for Marvel and Disney+ starting with one set within the Kingdom of Wakanda.

Production on Black Panther 2 is said to begin this June in Atlanta, Georgia with a release date of July 8th, 2022.

SOURCE: GOOD MORNING AMERICA