The yet-to-be-titled origin story of Nike at Amazon Studios has added a lot of star power to its roster including Viola Davis, Chris Tucker, Marlon Wayans, Julius Tennon as well as Jason Bateman, Chris Messina, Matthew Maher, Matt Damon, and Tom Papa. Ben Affleck directs a script (which was on the 2021 Black List) by Alex Convery. Affleck will also star.
According to Deadline, Davis will step into the role of Deloris Jordan, Michael Jordan’s mother who was integral in in the Nike deal. Tennon, Davis’ real-life husband will play Jordan’s father, James.
Tucker as Howard White, a former college basketball player at the University of Maryland. He was a junior exec at Nike’s basketball department during the ’80s. Wayans will play college basketball trailblazer George Raveling, who was the first Black coach in the Atlantic Coast Conference and the Pacific-10. He was the head coach at the University of Iowa and an assistant of the gold medal-winning U.S. Men’s Olympic basketball team, where he met Michael Jordan. He first introduced the idea of signing with Nike to Michael.
Damon will play sneaker salesman Sonny Vaccaro, who created Nike. Affleck plays Nike co-founder Phil Knight while Bateman will play Nike exec Rob Strasser. Messina will play David Falk, Jordan’s first agent.
