Michael B. Jordan’s career has been on a steady incline for the past two decades or so, hitting a peak when he took home his first Oscar this year for playing not one, but two characters, in Ryan Coogler’s Sinners. Yet it’s clear that Jordan has even higher ambitions than just acting, as his sophomore directorial debut, The Thomas Crown Affair, will release as part of the 2027 movie schedule. After acting opposite Jordan in the upcoming action remake, Adria Arjona shared a take on what it’s like working with him when he's in the director's chair.
This iteration ofThe Thomas Crown Affair is especially exciting for Jordan, given it’s his first on-screen role following his Oscar win, but also because it’s his first time directing since 2023’s Creed III. In both films, Jordan plays the lead and directs, something that very few Hollywood professionals can successfully pull off. However, Arjona, who replaced Taylor Russell as Thomas Crown’s love interest and investigative adversary, had nothing but praise for the 39-year-old director during her conversation with USA Today:
It was so much fun. I came into that project a little bit late, so it felt like I was playing catch-up for a little bit there. But Michael could not have been more welcoming, more supportive. He’s such a brilliant director. He really is an amazing dude to work with. He really is. I think everyone idolizes him for his acting, he’s incredibly talented. But I’m so in awe of him as a director. And we had so much fun. We had a good time.
Adria Arjona
These comments from the Andor actress aren’t surprising, as Tessa Thompson had similar comments regarding Jordan’s directing on Creed III. Given it was Jordan's first directorial attempt, Thompson said she was at first worried on how it would affect his acting scenes. However, she said Jordan was easily able to slip back into his role after checking the monitor, being completely present with her in the scene from the moment he called “action.”
Creed III was a very different environment from The Thomas Crown Affair though, something Jordan addressed himself. He admitted that even though this wasn’t his first time directing, there was still a significant learning curve with TCA. A lot of it was shot on location in London as opposed to a studio lot, and the crew had shorter days, meaning there was less room for error. Jordan was also working with an entirely new group of actors, whereas with the boxing threequel, he had been acting with the same cast for years.
It was a challenge he aced apparently according to Arjona, but is anyone surprised? After seeing Sinners (twice) in theaters, it was clear to me that the Fruitvale Station actor should win the Academy Award, something Arjona told him with more certainty months before he was even nominated:
I remember we had this little moment on set, and I just looked at him, and I was like, ‘You’re gonna get nominated for an Oscar.’ And he was like, ‘Stop, let’s focus on the scene. I was like, ‘You’re gonna win an Oscar.’ And he’s like, ‘OK, so you’re gonna hit your mark.’ And he was so consumed by the Thomas Crown [production]. He’s so humble, too. He was like, ‘Stop, I don’t even want to think about that. …. And then he won. I think it’s my first time being like, ‘I told you so.’
Adria Arjona
I’m always forgetting that movies film years before they’re released, and it seems wild to me that Jordan was knee deep in Thomas Crown amid all the Sinners hype and Oscar nominations. Upon hearing that he specifically requested Thomas Crown from Amazon MGM, and that he was so invested during filming despite external distractions, I am so hyped for this upcoming film.
The Fahrenheit 451 actor has continually emphasized his version of the hit 1999 and 1968 action films is not a reboot but rather a reimagining of the billionaire art thief’s story. However, I have complete faith in his adaptation. Jordan is easily one of Hollywood’s most debonair leading men, in line with previous Thomas Crown headlines Pierce Bronson and Steven McQueen, and, based on the teaser trailer for Jordan's version, he’s nailed the role and tone of the franchise.
I have no doubt Michael B. Jordan will make waves when The Thomas Crown Affair hits theaters on March 5, 2027. And who knows, maybe it'll even earn hims another Oscar nod, perhaps for directing this time. Of course, if he ends up winning an Oscar in 2028, I’ll also be the one saying I told you so.
