Michael B. Jordan took the stage during Amazon’s upfront presentation at the Beacon Theatre in New York and gave fans a pretty exciting look at the future of his production company, Outlier Society.
Instead of promoting a new acting role, Jordan stepped up to spotlight several ambitious TV projects headed to Prime Video, and the lineup covers everything from boxing legends to fantasy romance dragons.
Amazon TV boss Peter Friedlander and film chief Courtenay Valenti introduced Jordan while praising the growing partnership between the studio and Outlier Society, which is led by president Elizabeth Raposo. From there, Jordan rolled out three major series projects that are officially moving forward.
The first project unveiled was The Greatest, a scripted series centered on legendary boxer Muhammad Ali. The show marks the first authorized series about Ali’s life created with the blessing of his estate, which already makes it a huge deal.
Created by Ben Watkins, the story will chronicle Ali’s journey beginning with his early days as Cassius Clay all the way through his rise as one of the most iconic athletes in history.
Jordan spoke about his passion for bringing Ali’s story to television, and Ali’s widow, Lonnie Ali, joined him on stage to talk about the trust she has in the creative team tackling the project.
The presentation also introduced actor Jaalen Best, who will portray Ali in the series. Jordan brought Best onstage before attendees were shown a teaser reel for the show.
Jordan then shifted gears to the expanding world of Creed with the reveal of Delphi, a new spinoff series he’s developing alongside longtime collaborator Ryan Coogler.
The actor reflected on the moment Coogler originally approached him about playing Adonis Creed years ago and how that collaboration evolved into building out an even larger universe tied to the franchise.
Jordan confirmed that Delphi officially begins production in Los Angeles on May 18 and brought out showrunner Marco Ramirez to help introduce the project.
The final announcement was one fantasy fans have been waiting for. Amazon officially ordered the TV adaptation of Fourth Wing to series. Based on Rebecca Yarros’ massively successful romantasy novel, the project has been in the works for a while after Outlier Society secured the rights to The Empyrean book series before the first novel was even released in 2023.
Now the adaptation is fully moving ahead with Yarros and Jordan executive producing alongside showrunner Meredith Averill. Lisa Joy, known for Westworld, is also attached and will direct the first episode.
It’s a pretty impressive mix of projects and a strong sign that Jordan’s influence as a producer keeps growing fast. Between a prestige Muhammad Ali drama, a Creed universe expansion, and one of the hottest fantasy properties around, Prime Video is clearly betting big on Jordan and Outlier Society.
