Michael B. Jordan To Lead ‘Just Mercy’ From ‘Short Term 12’ Director Destin Cretton
By Angie Han/July 25, 2015 10:00 am EST
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The trade additionally notes that big names like Will Smith and Denzel Washington have shown interest in the project, though neither is officially attached at this time.
Cretton will direct from a script he’s writing with Andrew Lanham. In addition to starring, Jordan will executive produce alongside Stevenson and Arthur Spector. Gil Netter (Life of Pi, The Blind Side) will produce, and Victor Moyers and Asher Goldstein will oversee for Broad Green Pictures.
Cretton is known for directing Short Term 12, which followed a supervisor (Brie Larson) at a group home for troubled youth. He handled the dark subject matter with grit and grace, finding the inspirational notes in the story without downplaying its complexities. His plan was to follow it up with an adaptation Jeannette Walls’ memoir The Glass Castle — a similarly grounded story of underprivileged youth — but the project hit a snag when Jennifer Lawrence dropped out of the lead.
Jordan, meanwhile, broke through with Ryan Coogler’s fact-based indie drama Fruitvale Station. He played Oscar Grant, a young black man who was unjustly killed by a BART police officer on New Year’s Day 2009. Fantastic Four and Creed (which reunites him with Coogler) should boost his profile considerably in the next few months. Just Mercy seems like a great fit for both of them, and it should be exciting to see what they can do together.
