Michael B. Jordan Teams With ‘Short Term 12’ Director for ‘Just Mercy’

Michael B. Jordan is undeniably one of our most engaging rising stars, proving the sheer force of his talent with his role in Fruitvale Station (and lest we forget, his earlier role on Friday Night Lights). Jordan has two upcoming high profile roles with Fantastic Four and Creed, but his next project will take him back to a more intimate environment as he teams with the director of the acclaimed indie Short Term 12 for Just Mercy.

If you haven’t seen Short Term 12 yet, it’s on Netflix and well worth your time. We’ve been wondering what director Destin Cretton would do following his powerful feature debut, and The Wrap reports that his next project is titled Just Mercy, with Jordan set to star in the leading role — those are two mighty talented people combing their forces for a film that will undoubtedly send you reeling for a box of Kleenex.

Cretton and Andrew Lanham will adapt the award-winning, New York Times bestselling memoir of the same name, which centers on Bryan Stevenson, a celebrated civil rights defense attorney who recalls his efforts to free a condemned man from death row. The story explores our troubled judicial system, which relies too often on the death penalty and contributes to a cycle of crime recidivism by targeting the lower-class.

Jordan will play the role of Stevenson, with Cretton revealing that the attorney’s story hit him “harder than anything” he’d ever encountered. It will surely hit audiences just as hard when it arrives in theaters, likely sometime next year.