Michael B. Jordan Reveals What’s Next for The Thomas Crown Affair and Creed 4
After a year on London sets reinventing The Thomas Crown Affair, Michael B. Jordan drops fresh updates on the stylish caper—and where Creed 4 is heading next.
Michael B. Jordan just got back from London after spending the past year shepherding his take on The Thomas Crown Affair, and he is clearly in full heist-romance mode. Fresh off that double-role flex in Ryan Coogler's Sinners, he told Variety where his head is at on Crown, why this version exists, and how the Creed machine rolls on without him lacing up the gloves forever. Footage is staying in the vault for now, but the plan is very much in motion.
His Thomas Crown: not a redo, a rethink
Jordan grew up on the 1999 Pierce Brosnan remake — not the museum kid, but that movie made art, slickness, and a certain New York pop for him. His mom is an artist, so he was around paints and leather dye, and he admits that film quietly shaped his taste. He circled back later to the 1968 Steve McQueen original — all those split screens and swagger — and that sealed it.
After Creed, MGM asked what he wanted to do next. He pointed straight at Thomas Crown. Part of the appeal was the space between versions: enough time and generational distance that the story feels fresh, without the crushing expectations of something like Bond.
"I didn't want a reboot. I wanted a reimagination."
Translation: this is not a shot-for-shot redo. Jordan is ditching the old setup — rich guys stealing because they’re bored — because, as he puts it, that doesn’t fly now. His version is more personal with real stakes, but it still leans into the fashion and the romance. He even shouted out Ruth E. Carter overseeing the looks, which tells you where the vibe is calibrated.
Who is in the mix
- Jordan spent the past year in London directing this romantic thriller take on Thomas Crown and is keeping footage under wraps for now.
- Cast he name-checked: Adria Arjona, Kenneth Branagh, Pilou Asbaek, and Danai Gurira.
- Costume design heat: Ruth E. Carter.
- Story DNA: the polish of the 1999 Brosnan version plus the stylistic snap of the 1968 McQueen original — filtered through Jordan’s update with higher emotional stakes.
Creed 4: yes, but not with him punching forever
On the Creed front, Jordan says another mainline movie will happen — "eventually, definitely." The franchise has been good to him, he’s tight with MGM and producer Irwin Winkler, and he thinks there is more story to mine. He is just not trying to be in the ring for the next decade and a half. The plan is to get creative: use the characters they have, introduce a few new faces, and let him take some strategic swings without being the sole engine of every entry.
That broader plan is already happening. There is a spin-off focused on Adonis Creed’s daughter, Amara. There is also a series set in this world that Amazon has picked up. Expect more corners of what Jordan casually calls the Creed-verse — with him nearby, not necessarily center ring every time.
The read
Jordan is threading a needle here: a glossy, grown-up heist romance that actually says something new about its lead, plus a smart expansion of a boxing franchise that no longer lives and dies on one guy’s left hook. If you were worried Crown would feel like a museum piece, he is very intentionally taking it off the pedestal.