Michael B. Jordan has built an impressive career already, with several movies defining that success. Jordan rose to prominence on television, starring in a number of acclaimed shows, including The Wire and Friday Night Lights. However, it was when he transitioned to movies that we got a true look at his talents.

Jordan’s career continues to hit new heights, especially with the recent success of Sinners. It is marked by some strong performances, some key collaborations, and a couple of notable failures. While fans will have their own opinions on the best Michael B. Jordan movies so far, these are the movies that shaped his career.

Chronicle (2012)

Michael B. Jordan’s television career was impressive, but Chronicle was the movie that signaled he was ready to become a big-screen talent. The movie is a clever use of the found-footage format, utilizing it to tell a completely original superhero story about three teenage powers who get superpowers and go on different paths with these new abilities.

Jordan stands out in the talented young cast as Steve, the popular jock who is one of the superpowered young men. Jordan brings plenty of charisma and swagger to the role, but he also makes Steve a compᴀssionate and likable guy.

Chronicle was a solid hit early in his career, with the unique premise bringing more attention to it and its young stars. It was a perfect movie to make audiences take notice of Jordan as an actor and start to look for him in other projects.

Fruitvale Station (2013)

While Chronicle helped establish Michael B. Jordan’s movie career, Fruitvale Station showcased the true talent of an actor he truly is. The film tells the true story of Oscar Grant, following throughout his day and through his various relationships, all leading to his tragic death and the hands of police officers.

Jordan’s performance in Fruitvale Station remains his most powerful. It is a complicated role as the movie doesn’t shy away from Oscar’s past and his flaws, but Jordan plays him as a man of great compᴀssion who was trying to turn certain aspects of his life around for the sake of his loved ones.

Along with being a performance that announced Jordan as an actor to watch, Fruitvale Station also marked his first movie with Ryan Coogler, who made his confident directorial debut. This ended up being the most important professional relationship of Jordan’s career thus far.

Fantastic Four (2015)

Following the success of Chronicle, Michael B. Jordan had the chance to appear in a true superhero movie with the next attempt to bring Marvel’s first family to the big screen. Jordan stepped into the role of Johnny Storm, aka The Human Torch, one of the four young people who gain extraordinary abilities.

While Fantastic Four‘s darker take on the material was certainly a departure from the more family-friendly previous movies, the movie itself ended up being a critical and financial disaster. Instead of launching a new franchise, it buried the Fantastic Four for another decade until the MCU finally brought them into the fold.

The movie signaled a significant disappointment in Jordan’s career, but it also marked an important step for the actor in being brought into the blockbuster film world. Also, as much as critics didn’t care for the movie, Jordan was seen as a highlight.

Creed (2015)

The failure of Fantastic Four meant it would not become Michael B. Jordan’s first movie franchise, as many people thought it would. However, it turns out the actor would not have to wait long for that to happen. That same year, Jordan starred in Creed, a return to the Rocky franchise, playing Apollo Creed’s son.

The movie marked the second collaboration between Jordan and Ryan Coogler, as the film delivered a terrific new chapter in the Rocky franchise, including a sensational performance from Sylvester Stallone. However, it also establishes its own emotional story, and Jordan delivers in the lead role.

Not only did Jordan step into an iconic franchise in the lead role, but the success of Creed led to his headlining a new franchise that stands confidently on its own. It is the movie that combined Jordan’s talents as an actor with the proof that he was also a movie star.

Black Panther (2018)

Michael B. Jordan’s attempt to play a Marvel hero was a disappointment, but he had much better luck with his role as a Marvel villain. Following his MCU introduction in Captain America: Civil War, Chadwick Boseman led his first solo movie as T’Challa, aka Black Panther, who was now serving as Wakanda’s protector and king.

When it was announced that Ryan Coogler would be making the Black Panther movie, perhaps it should have been expected that Jordan would be involved. Jordan gets the standout villain role as Erik Killmonger, someone with deep ties to T’Challa who comes to take the throne from him. Jordan is chilling and sympathetic as one of the MCU’s greatest villains.

Black Panther was a mᴀssive hit, becoming the highest-grossing solo movie in the MCU. It was also a cultural phenomenon and the first movie from Marvel’s catalog to be nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars. For Jordan to have an acclaimed role in such a mᴀssive hit pushed his career to new heights.

Without Remorse (2021)

Michael B. Jordan is one of those rare actors who can switch between action movies and dramatic roles quite easily, or even combine the two. Such was the case with Without Remorse, an action thriller in which Jordan plays John Clark, a CIA operative seeking revenge for the death of his wife.

The movie is based on the books by Tom Clancy, with Jordan stepping into this spy world that includes the iconic character Jack Ryan. The response to Without Remorse was not as enthusiastic as hoped for, though Jordan’s committed performance was praised once again.

Regardless of where things go from here, the movie was a glimpse of Jordan’s ambitions as a movie star, looking to build a new franchise for himself, which was teased with the Rainbow Six connection at the movie’s end.

Creed III (2023)

Though Ryan Coogler stepped away from the Creed franchise as a director, the sequel was another success that further connected to the Rocky franchise. However, the third entry was a big move as it truly made it Michael B. Jordan’s franchise going forward. Along with Sylvester Stallone not returning, Jordan made his directorial debut with Creed III.

The movie sees Adonis at the height of his success, only for an old friend (Jonathan Majors) to return and look to take back the life he feels is owed to him. Jordan makes for an impressive debut behind the camera, infusing the movie with some terrific stylistic choices.

The success of the movie, both critically and at the box office, cemented Jordan as one of the biggest stars working in Hollywood right now. The fact that he was both star and director of the movie only bolstered his position throughout the movie. It made its fans eager to see where his filmmaking career would go next.

Sinners (2025)

Michael B. Jordan’s latest movie is his fifth collaboration with Ryan Coogler and one of Jordan’s biggest hits. It also features an incredible acting feat as Jordan gives two very distinct performances in the film as twin brothers, Smoke and Stack. Sinners follows these brothers in 1930s Mississippi as they open a juke joint, only to confront supernatural evil.

The movie is a triumph of genre filmmaking, as Coogler layers the film with so many themes and perspectives while also delivering on the thrills of a vampire flick. Jordan is also sensational, leading the talented cast of Sinners with his two fascinating characters. The actor is already getting Oscar buzz.

The success of Sinners did not just elevate the careers of Coogler and Jordan, but it was also seen as a huge win for original theatrical movies. It made for a must-see theatrical experience while telling a completely new and exciting story.