Michael B. Jordan, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II Team for True-Life Tale ‘I Helped Destroy People’ (Exclusive)

Michael B. Jordan and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II have teamed up for I Helped Destroy People, a dramatic thriller that adapts a 2021 New York Times article that involved a whistleblower, the FBI, and racial and religious profiling.

Ben Watkins, who created the Garret Dillahunt-Ron Perlman series, Hand of God, is on board to pen the script for the feature project that will be produced by Jordan and his Outlier Society partner Elizabeth Raposo as well as by Abdul-Mateen’s House Eleven10. Abdul-Mateen will also star in Destroy People, which falls under Outlier Society’s deal with Amazon Studios.

The Times told the story of Terry Albury, an FBI agent who was tasked with infiltrating Muslim communities post-9/11 as the only Black agent at his bureau. However, he grew so disillusioned by the War on Terror and what he saw as the agency’s violations of its rules on domestic terrorism that, after 16 years and commendations signed by directors Robert Mueller and James Comey, he began leaking classified documents to the press, hoping to expose a system that abused innocents. A morning sting operation apprehended him, and he landed a four-year stint in prison, convicted under the Espionage Act.

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“There is this mythology surrounding the war on terrorism, and the F.B.I., that has given agents the power to ruin the lives of completely innocent people based solely on what part of the world they came from, or what religion they practice, or the color of their skin. And I did that,” Albury is quoted saying in the article, adding, “I helped destroy people. For 17 years.”

The streamer picked up the article by Janet Reitman in a competitive situation, with the project now in development.

Abdul-Mateen will next be seen starring opposite Jake Gyllenhaal in the Michael Bay action movie Ambulance, which Universal opens in theaters April 8. He will also reprise his role as Black Manta in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, due out in March 2023, and is attached to star in Scent of Burnt Flowers, which House Eleven10 is producing. The banner aims to tell extraordinary stories about ordinary people, and its mission is to uplift talent from underrepresented communities.

Outlier Society is currently in production on Creed III for MGM, with Jordan not only reprising his role as Adonis Creed but also directing the boxing drama. The banner, which produces both film and television, has numerous projects in development, including the adaptation of the novel You Made a Fool of Death With Your Beauty for Amazon and Static Shock, a live-action take on a groundbreaking title from DC Comics.

Abdul-Mateen is repped by WME, M88 and attorney Greg Slewett. Jordan is also repped by WME, M88 and Slewett.

Albury is repped by Joshua L. Dratel and Leon Friedman. Reitman is represented by UTA and Laurie Liss at Sterling Lord Literistic. UTA brokered the deal on Albury and Reitman’s behalf.