Michael B. Jordan Says Multiple Anime Projects Are in Early Development

Michael B. Jordan is moving closer to making anime a substantial part of his creative future. The actor and filmmaker has revealed that he has multiple anime-related projects in the early stages of development, suggesting that his well-documented passion for the medium may soon develop into work made specifically for anime audiences.

In a cover interview for the October 2026 issue of Vogue, Jordan spoke enthusiastically about the prospect. He joked, "I might just quit it all and make anime the rest of my life," a comment presented as having at least some genuine conviction behind it. Specifics on the projects, including their stories, studios, formats, or intended release platforms, have not yet been announced.

That lack of detail means it is too early to tell whether Jordan's projects will be serialized television anime, feature films, animated shorts, adaptations, or entirely original properties. Still, the confirmation that there is more than one project in development is notable. Jordan has spent years discussing anime as a formative influence rather than a passing interest, and his work on Creed III offered a clear example of how he has already brought those influences into a major Hollywood franchise.

Anime Has Already Shaped Jordan's Filmmaking

Jordan's affection for anime has never been particularly subtle. He has previously named Dragon Ball, Hunter x Hunter, and Naruto among the series he loves, while also citing Studio Ghibli's Princess Mononoke as a favorite film. Those references encompass very different corners of animation: long-running action adventures, character-driven shonen storytelling, and a landmark fantasy feature known for its atmosphere and thematic weight.

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His interest became especially visible during the promotion of Creed III, which Jordan directed while reprising his role as Adonis Creed. The film's boxing matches were designed with an emphasis on heightened perspective, emotion, rivalry, and momentum. Rather than simply presenting combat as a series of realistic exchanges, the movie occasionally leans into subjective imagery and visual intensity that evokes the dramatic language often associated with anime.

Jordan explicitly connected that approach to shows he watched growing up. In a February 2023 conversation, he explained that the goal was to put a new spin on the fights that audiences had seen throughout the Rocky and Creed films. He identified boxing anime Hajime no Ippo and Megalo Box, along with Naruto and My Hero Academia, as meaningful inspirations for the spirit behind the action.

"There's an inherent spirit to them in how they fight," Jordan said of the anime that influenced him, also pointing to the importance of bonds, relationships, brotherhood, and family within those stories.

That distinction matters. The inspiration was not limited to visual flourishes or individual attacks. Jordan connected anime combat to the emotional foundations around it: character history, personal stakes, rivalries, loyalty, and the way a single confrontation can carry the accumulated weight of an entire relationship. Those are central ideas in both sports dramas and action anime, making the connection more natural than it might initially seem.

The Creed III Connection Went Beyond Style

Creed III gave Jordan a chance to explore how anime grammar could work within a live-action boxing drama. His comments made clear that the influence extended into the construction of key fights, particularly the climactic confrontation between Adonis Creed and Damian Anderson. Jordan even singled out a moment in that fight as containing what he described as a Dragon Ball Z-influenced punch.

The reference does not mean the film suddenly becomes a supernatural battle story. Instead, it reflects an approach to impact and presentation: using framing, sound, stillness, character focus, and heightened movement to make an exchange feel larger than a conventional sports-movie blow. Anime has long excelled at communicating the internal experience of a fight, whether that means a character's memories interrupting the action, an opponent's resolve becoming visible through posture and timing, or a decisive hit receiving a burst of cinematic emphasis.

Boxing stories have always shared some DNA with shonen anime. Both often center on training, perseverance, mentors, rivals, defeats, comebacks, and the search for identity through competition. Hajime no Ippo is one of the clearest examples of that overlap, while Megalo Box uses a futuristic setting to build a similarly intense underdog sports narrative. Jordan's decision to bring aspects of that storytelling sensibility to Creed III therefore felt like a creative extension of the franchise rather than an unrelated addition.

His emerging anime slate could offer a more direct way to work with the medium that has inspired him. Animation would remove many of the practical limits inherent to live-action combat and allow a project to build its visual identity around the expressive techniques Jordan has admired for years. At the same time, his past comments suggest he is equally interested in anime's emotional storytelling conventions, not just its capacity for spectacle.

What Is Known -- and What Remains Unknown

For now, the most important confirmed point is simple: Jordan has multiple anime projects in early development. "Early" is an important qualifier. Projects at this stage can change substantially, and there is no indication yet of a production partner, creative team, cast, source material, animation studio, distributor, or timeline.

There is also no confirmation that any of the projects are connected to Jordan's existing film roles or franchises. Nothing announced so far ties the anime plans to Creed, Sinners, Miami Vice, or the planned Battlefield adaptation. Fans should therefore treat speculation about recognizable properties with caution until Jordan or the eventual collaborators share more concrete information.

That uncertainty does not make the announcement insignificant. High-profile performers frequently cite anime as an influence, but there is a meaningful difference between borrowing pieces of its visual language for a live-action production and committing to developing anime projects themselves. Jordan's comments point toward the latter, and the number of projects suggests this may be an ongoing creative direction rather than a one-off experiment.

The involvement of people who sincerely understand the medium can be especially important when projects are positioned for an international audience. Jordan's public record shows familiarity with a range of influential works, including both battle-focused series and films with a very different tonal identity. Whether that familiarity translates into the final projects will depend on the writers, artists, directors, producers, and animation partners ultimately involved, none of whom have been identified.

A Busy Screen Future Alongside New Animation Plans

Jordan's anime ambitions arrive during an active period for the actor. He is set to appear with Austin Butler in Miami Vice '85, a reboot of the classic 1980s television series. That film is currently scheduled for release on August 6, 2027.

He is also working with Christopher McQuarrie on a proposed Battlefield movie. The project is based on Electronic Arts' military game series, and the pair have reportedly been presenting the adaptation to studios in the hope of bringing it to the big screen. No studio deal, release schedule, or production details for the movie have been confirmed.

The Battlefield effort is separate from the newly discussed anime projects, but it reinforces the breadth of Jordan's current interests. He is continuing to work in live-action film, including a game adaptation, while exploring an animation medium that has shaped his creative outlook. His remark about devoting the rest of his life to anime may have been playful, but the development of multiple projects gives the joke a more serious foundation.

For anime and gaming fans, the waiting game now begins. Jordan's history with action storytelling and his evident affection for anime create an intriguing starting point, but a project's identity will only come into focus once its creative partners and premise are revealed. Until then, the strongest indication is that the director behind Creed III wants to move from celebrating anime's influence to helping create new work within the medium itself.