Michael B. Jordan has been touring around Japan for the premiere of his latest film Creed III. Since it was his first time in Japan, he made the most of the opportunity and went on to visit Naruto‘s production studio, Studio Pierrot, since he is a big anime fan.

He also didn’t miss the chance to meet One Punch Man manga’s illustrator Yusuke Murata, and the detailed conversation of theirs was published by Comic Natalie.

It was during this conversation with Murata that Jordan revealed he was given a lot of offers to direct live-action adaptations of anime, all of which he declined.

However he did not reveal the titles of the anime in question.

Jordan felt that it was not possible due to the current state of the live-action technology. According to him, it is impossible to capture the essence of the anime and accurately translate it to the live-action format.

However, he also mentioned that this is not completely out of the question, as in the future as technology advances it might be possible to make the live-action translation of anime without losing its core possible.

Jordan is nevertheless interested and intrigued by this prospect.

He also went on to reveal that he wants to challenge himself with different genres like Yusuke Murata and push the boundaries of his capabilities.

“Actually, I’ve received a few offers to direct live-action adaptations of anime. However, I’ve been declining those offers, saying, ‘It’s not possible…’ The reason is that with the current state of live-action technology, I don’t think we can accurately translate anime into a live-action format. It might be possible in the future as technology advances, whether it’s capturing the essence or effectively converting it into live-action. However, I’m still interested. Like you mentioned, I also want to challenge myself with different genres in each project and push the boundaries of my own abilities.“

Jordan also asked Murata if he would be interested in collaborating with him in any future projects, which Murata gladly accepted.

“Jordan: If Murata-sensei is on board, I would love to work together!
Murata: Really!? Is there such a great honor?… I’m grateful to have this opportunity…!
Jordan: Absolutely, absolutely. I love collaborations and I’m eager to create works with talented individuals like yourself.
Murata: If I can be of help to Director Jordan, I would be delighted to do so!“

Creed III released in Japan on May 26, with a special anime short that will play at towards the end of the film exclusively for Japanese fans.

Michael Bakari Jordan is an American actor, producer and director. He is best known for his film roles as shooting victim Oscar Grant in the drama Fruitvale Station (2013), boxer Adonis Creed in Creed (2015), and Erik Killmonger in Black Panther (2018), all of which were written and directed by Ryan Coogler.

Jordan reprised his role of Creed in Creed II (2018) and Creed III (2023). The latter also marked his directorial debut.

Yusuke Murata is a Japanese manga artist and animator, best known for illustrating One’s One-Punch Man, serialized in the Weekly Young Jump online version.

Murata’s other major work is his illustration of the American football manga Eyeshield 21, in collaboration with writer Riichiro Inagaki.

Source: Comic Natalie