Michael B. Jordan Is Producing the Only Muhammad Ali Story His Estate Ever Approved

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Summary

  • Michael B. Jordan took the stage at Amazon’s Upfront presentation to unveil three Prime Video series in development through his production company Outlier Society: Muhammad Ali biographical series The Greatest, Creed spinoff Delphi, and romantasy adaptation Fourth Wing
  • The Greatest marks the first-ever project about Ali’s life authorized by his estate, with Lonnie Ali serving as consultant and newcomer Jaalen Best set to star
  • The announcements signal a decisive shift in Jordan’s Hollywood profile, from leading man to studio-level producer with an expansive deal at Amazon MGM Studios

Michael B. Jordan finished Amazon’s presentation in New York on Monday not as a performer, but as a producer working on several big TV shows. His production company, Outlier Society, announced three new series in development for Prime Video: The Greatest, Delphi, and Fourth Wing. These projects showcase the range of his goals as a producer.

Of the three announcements, the most notable is a biographical series called The Greatest, about Muhammad Ali. This is the first time Ali’s estate has given permission for a project about his life. Created by Ben Watkins, the show will follow Ali’s journey from his beginnings as Cassius Clay to his legendary boxing career. Lonnie Ali, Muhammad Ali’s wife, is consulting on the series and spoke about her confidence in Jordan and his team. Jordan also introduced Jaalen Best, the actor playing Ali, and showed a short preview clip. For Jordan, who has built his career on stories about boxing, producing the official, authorized story of Ali is particularly meaningful.

So, I’m really excited about this new project, Delphi. It’s a Creed spin-off, and what’s cool is it’s being made with Ryan Coogler, who’s a huge part of why I even got the role of Adonis Creed in the first place! He really believed in me, and now we’re working together again. I was actually talking about how much that first opportunity meant to me when I announced that filming starts in LA on May 18th, with Marco Ramirez running the show. Honestly, our partnership has already given us some seriously successful movies, so I’ve got high hopes for this one!

The biggest news of the day was the greenlight for Fourth Wing, a series adaptation of Rebecca Yarros’ popular fantasy romance novel. Amazon has officially ordered the series after several years of development. Outlier Society took a chance on Yarros’ The Empyrean series even before the first book came out in May 2023, and that gamble paid off thanks to the book’s huge success. Rebecca Yarros and Chris Jordan will be executive producers, with Meredith Averill as showrunner and Lisa Joy (known for Westworld) directing the premiere episode.

These three projects demonstrate what Outlier Society is aiming to become: a production company involved in high-profile biographies, continuing popular franchises, and creating mainstream entertainment all at once. Amazon MGM Studios leaders Peter Friedlander and Courtenay Valenti described their partnership with Jordan and Outlier Society president Elizabeth Raposo as “expansive,” signaling a long-term, foundational relationship beyond just individual projects. The projects announced on Monday suggest this next phase of Jordan’s Hollywood career could be even more impactful than his first.

Stay tuned for official trailers and release dates.

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2026-05-12 11:28