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

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 closed out Amazon‘s Upfront presentation at the Beacon Theatre in New York on Monday not as an actor, but as a producer with a growing slate of major television projects. Through his production company Outlier Society, Jordan unveiled three series in development for Prime Video: The Greatest, Delphi, and Fourth Wing, each representing a different register of his ambitions behind the camera.

The most culturally significant announcement of the three is The Greatest, a biographical series about Muhammad Ali that marks the first project about the boxing legend’s life to receive authorization from his estate. Created by Ben Watkins, the show will trace Ali’s story from his origins as Cassius Clay through his iconic career. Lonnie Ali, wife of the late Ali, is serving as consultant on the project and appeared onstage at the Upfront to speak to her trust in Jordan and his team. Jordan also brought out Jaalen Best, the young actor cast in the lead role, alongside a brief sizzle reel. For Jordan, a man whose career has been shaped in no small part by boxing narratives, producing the definitive authorized Ali story carries obvious weight.

Delphi occupies familiar territory. The Creed spinoff is being developed alongside Ryan Coogler, Jordan’s most important creative collaborator, the director who cast Jordan as Adonis Creed and built a franchise around that performance. Jordan reflected onstage on what that original invitation from Coogler meant to his career before announcing that Delphi will begin production in Los Angeles on May 18, with Marco Ramirez attached as showrunner. The project extends a partnership that has now produced some of the most commercially and critically successful films of the past decade.

The third announcement was the most unexpected. Fourth Wing, an adaptation of author Rebecca Yarros’ best-selling romantasy novel, has been officially ordered to series at Amazon after years in development. Outlier Society acquired the rights to Yarros’ The Empyrean series before the first book was even published in May 2023, a bet that has since been vindicated by the novel’s massive commercial success. Yarros and Jordan will executive produce alongside showrunner Meredith Averill, with Lisa Joy of Westworld directing the first episode.

Taken together, the three projects sketch the outline of what Outlier Society is building: a company operating across prestige biography, franchise continuation, and mainstream genre entertainment simultaneously. Amazon MGM Studios heads Peter Friedlander and Courtenay Valenti framed their relationship with Jordan and Outlier Society president Elizabeth Raposo as “expansive,” the kind of language studios use when they want the room to understand that a relationship is long-term and structural rather than project-by-project. The slate he unveiled Monday suggests the second act of his Hollywood story may be more consequential than the first.

Stay tuned for official trailers and release dates.