Michael B. Jordan is making his directorial debut with “Creed III” — but he had some secret A-list help.
The “Black Panther” actor has revealed that his “A Journal for Jordan” director and mentor Denzel Washington actually gave him some serious pointers for the upcoming third installment of the “Rocky” spinoff series.
In a revealing new sit down with AP Entertainment, Jordan, 34, spoke about how he was in the midst of pre-production on “Creed III” last year while he and Washington, 67, were working on “Journal.”
California native Jordan said that seasoned two-time Oscar winner Washington explained to him the significance of the storyboarding process before shooting a script. The “Training Day” icon then immediately called a storyboard artist he had collaborated with and hooked him up with Jordan so they could knockout the project together.
“He literally called up a friend of his who’s a storyboard artist — and dialed him up right there, pitched him [and] me in the project and put me on the phone,” said Jordan, Jordan, 34, who is also starring in “Creed III,” which is set to premiere Nov. 23. “I talked to him and that’s how I got one of my storyboard artists. Right there on the spot at rehearsal.”
He said he took the phone from the “Glory” legend and couldn’t believe what was happening. Jordan fumbled over his words and said into he phone, “Uh… OK… hey… what’s up, man? What’s goin’ on?”
Jordan continued, “That’s D, man. He’s willing to do anything to help. He wants to pass on knowledge and make art a little easier in however he can help.”
The “Fantastic Four” star previously opened up about his directorial start with Variety.
“Directing has always been an aspiration, but the timing had to be right,” he revealed last month. “‘Creed III’ is that moment — a time in my life where I’ve grown more sure of who I am, holding agency in my own story, maturing personally, growing professionally and learning from the greats like Ryan Coogler, most recently Denzel Washington, and other top tier directors I respect. All of which sets the table for this moment.”
Meanwhile, Washington also told the publication how he advised Jordan to “prepare, prepare, prepare,” adding “It’s much harder than you think because he’s acting and directing. But [Michael’s] motivated and he’s very, very bright, so I’m sure he will do well.”
“Creed III” will follow young Adonis Creed on the next stage of his boxing journey. Tessa Thompson, Jonathan Majors and Phylicia Rashad are set to co-star in the film.
