Michael B. Jordan to Star in Denzel Washington’s ‘Journal for Jordan’

By Justin Kroll

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Michael B. Jordan is in talks to star in Sony’s “Journal for Jordan,” a drama that will be directed by Denzel Washington.

The movie, penned by Oscar-nominated screenwriter Virgil Williams, is based on the true story of Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Dana Canedy’s love affair with First Sergeant Charles Monroe King. King kept a journal full of poignant life lessons for their newborn son, Jordan, while deployed overseas. He was killed in Iraq in 2006 when Jordan was just seven months old, but his spirit lives on in his messages of love to Dana and Jordan.

Jordan will also produce through his Outlier Society banner, while Washington and Escape Artist’s Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal, and Steve Tisch will also produce. Ange Giannetti is overseeing for the studio.

Jordan garnered critical acclaim for portraying the tormented villain Erik Killmonger in “Black Panther,” the first Marvel movie to score a best picture Oscar nomination. He most recently starred in “Creed II,” the second installment in the Rocky Balboa spinoff series. The sequel earned over $200 million at the worldwide box office.

The multi-hyphenate recently wrapped production on “Just Mercy,” a Warner Bros. courtroom drama. He also signed on to play John Clark in Tom Clancy’s “Without Remorse” for Paramount.

Jordan’s Outlier Society was one of the first production companies to publicly adopt the inclusion rider, an initiative that requires certain levels of diversity in casting and production.

Both Jordan and Outlier Society are repped by WME. Jordan is also repped by attorney Greg Slewett.