Michael B. Jordan, Amazon Developing Muhammad Ali Limited Series

In an exclusive interview on Monday, actor/producer Michael B. Jordan and Amazon Studios Head Jennifer Salke announced that they will be teaming up with Amazon Prime for a limited series based on the life of Muhammad Ali. Tentatively titled “The Greatest,” the project finds Jordan’s Outlier Society executive producing with Jay-Z‘s Roc Nation in cooperation with the Hall of Fame boxer and social activist’s estate. “It’s an incredible honor and I bring tons of respect to it. It’s a healthy weight to carry, to be able to tell the story of Muhammad Ali,” Jordan revealed. “It’s called ‘The Greatest’ right now and we’re partnered with Roc Nation on the music side of things. It’s a project where we’ve partnered with the estate and we’ll be able to tell this story with no red tape. It’s a limited series that will really dive into the life of Muhammad Ali. I’m not going to be too specific beyond that, but we’ll be able to get to know him in ways we haven’t had a chance to before. I’m really excited about it, as a boxing enthusiast, and since this is the world I’ve been living in the past five or six years with the ‘Creed’ franchise. To be able to honor Muhammad Ali and elaborate on his legacy is something I’m really excited about, and I know Jen and Amazon are as well.”

With Josh Wakely (Motown Magic, Beat Bugs) tapped to pen the series, Jordan is expected to stay behind the scenes (possibly an on-screen role) with auditions planned for a main lead who can represent the icon both inside and outside of the ring. “This is character-driven and compelling,” Jordan said. “People know Muhammad Ali from his boxing days, but this is an opportunity to go beyond the ring, and more into the man. It’s going to give more of a 360 degree view of who he was. And no, I’m not playing that guy, I can say that for sure, and we are still in early stages here and can’t say too much. We are still putting the pieces together, but it feels like something to look forward to in the future.”