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Michael B. Jordan inks new deal, puts on producer’s hat
The actor signs with Skydance Media through which the ‘Apollo Park’ series will be released
First, he was Wallace in the HBO series The Wire — a 16-year-old drug dealer who made his way through the projects and ended up getting killed. Then, he was high school quarterback Vince Howard in Friday Night Lights. Then, he was Adonis Creed in Creed, the son of the late boxer Apollo Creed from the Rocky series. He is Michael B. Jordan.
The 29-year-old actor continually expands his body of work, and now he can add executive producer to the pile. After launching the production company Outlier Productions and signing a multiyear deal with Skydance Media, Jordan will be seen both on and off the camera.
His first TV project under Skydance will be the scripted drama Apollo Park, a series about a young basketball player from Detroit who rises to fame.
“I love telling true, modern stories, and Apollo Park — an underdog tale about a very real and very heroic hustler who defies stereotypes and thrives against great odds — has long been a passion project of mine,” said Jordan, according to The Hollywood Reporter. “[Apollo Park co-creator] Eric [Amadio] and I are excited to join forces with the incredible creative team at Skydance to share it with the world. I’m also very eager to start this new chapter in my career by launching my production company, and I am thrilled to have [Outlier Productions vice president] Wynn [Wygal] join my team.”
Jordan’s credits also include Fantastic Four, Fruitvale Station and Chronicle, and he will also star in Marvel’s Black Panther, due in 2018.
Jordan was a high school basketball player in Newark, New Jersey, so sports are second nature. Apollo Park joins other sports series such as Pitch, Survivor’s Remorse and Ballers.
Skydance is a leading producer of major Hollywood studio films and television shows and has produced 11 feature films, which have grossed nearly $4.2 billion.