In an internal email shared with IGN, Electronic Arts said it is cancelling the upcoming Black Panther game and shutting down its developer Cliffhanger Games. EA Entertainment president Laura Miele sent the email to staff members and also announced another round of layoffs among the company, although EA did not provide a specific number.
This new wave of layoffs is the third one this year, following another round last month that saw around 300 jobs cut from Respawn and EA’s Fan Care teams. “These decisions are hard,” Miele wrote (transcribed by IGN). “They affect people we’ve worked with, learned from, and shared real moments with. We’re doing everything we can to support them — including finding opportunities within EA, where we’ve had success helping people land in new roles.”
EA says it plans to relocate affected employees to other teams at the company to preserve as many jobs as possible. Miele’s email says EA is refocusing its efforts on a smaller number of franchises — presumably its most profitable IPs — including Battlefield, The Sims, Skate, and Apex Legends. EA, like numerous other publishers, has taken hits from the recent economic uncertainty and the turbulence of the gaming industry.
Crystal Dynamics
Despite the cancellation of the Black Panther game, Miele says the Iron Man game is still in development at Motive. She also once more confirmed the sequel to Star Wars Jedi: Survivor and said Bioware is still working on the next Mass Effect entry.
Little is known about what the Black Panther title was supposed to be, exactly, but EA had originally planned for it to be an open-world single-player game. It was part of a three-game deal, including Iron Man and a third, as-yet-unannounced game. There is no word on whether the unannounced title has been affected by this move or not.
2025 has seen waves of layoffs across the entire gaming industry, and the previous two years weren’t much better. In response, many workers in the industry banded together to form the United Videogame Workers, a union focused on protecting employee rights and ensuring better working conditions.
Director and screenwriter Ryan Coogler has only made five feature films to date, and all five of them have featured Michael B. Jordan. Coogler and Jordan have proven to be a potent pairing, as evidenced by Sinners’ stronger-than-expected performance at the box office over the weekend. That film managed to unseat this year’s current box-office champion, A Minecraft Movie, in its third weekend.
Now that Sinners is well on its way to becoming a hit, it’s time to look back at all five of the Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan collaborations and rank them from worst to best. Somehow, we doubt that Jordan will be able to star in all of Coogler’s subsequent movies. However, this collaboration won’t be ending anytime soon. So far, Coogler and Jordan bring out the best in each other.
5. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)
Marvel Studios
Despite his character’s death in the previous movie, Jordan briefly reprised his role as Eric Killmonger in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. That sequel is largely a tribute to Chadwick Boseman, who passed away from colon cancer in 2020. Since Boseman couldn’t reprise his role as T’Challa, his character was killed off in Wakanda Forever‘s opening scene, leaving his sister, Shuri (Letitia Wright), to mourn for him before assuming his mantle as the new Black Panther.
Jordan makes the most of his appearance as he challenges Shuri about how she’s going to respond to the attack on her family and her nation. It’s clear that even in the afterlife, Killmonger hasn’t changed. And he seems to have awareness of what’s happening on Earth after his death. Shuri may not have wanted to encounter Killmonger on the Ancestral Plane, but his presence did influence her. Jordan’s role is minimal, so Wakanda Forever ranks last on our list of his collaborations with Coogler.
In 2015, Coogler’s Creeddemonstrated a brilliant way to revive the Rocky franchise. The first of three films established that the late Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) had an illegitimate son, Adonis “Donnie” Creed. And Coogler turned to Jordan to bring the character to life.
Because Donnie grew up without his father, he felt the need to follow in Apollo’s footsteps as a boxer. Sylvester Stallone reprised his role as Rocky Balboa, Apollo’s former rival turned friend, who became Donnie’s mentor and trainer in this film. The emotional bond that develops between Donnie and Rocky is compelling and cathartic. There are real emotions in this boxing flick, and it’s a worthy addition to the Rocky films.
For their fifth film together, Coogler decided that the perfect co-star for Jordan was Jordan himself! Sinnersfeatures Jordan as twins Elijah “Smoke” Moore and Elias “Stack” Moore, both of whom are World War I veterans and former associates of Chicago gangster Al Capone. In 1932, the Moore brothers are looking to start over by returning to their hometown in Mississippi to open a juke joint.
Because this film has only recently been released, we’re going to refrain from sharing too many spoilers. It’s enough to say that the brothers encounter a supernatural evil that’s more dangerous than anything they’ve dealt with before. Jordan gave two great performances a film that has quickly become one of the few original movies to do very well in 2025.
Sinners is now playing in theaters.
2. Black Panther (2018)
Marvel Studios
Jordan made a huge impression as Eric Killmonger in the first Black Panther by portraying the film’s villain as someone who really saw himself as the hero of the story. Coogler made Killmonger’s backstory more tragic, which went a long way towards getting the audience to sympathize with the bad guy. But this so-called villain also had radical ideas that the most technologically advanced nation on Earth should do more to help the oppressed Black people on the planet. Killmonger intended to use Wakanda’s weapons to lead a global uprising.
Chadwick Boseman’s T’Challa was a very thoughtful hero and a great foil for Killmonger. In the end, T’Challa even decides that Killmonger was right about Wakanda’s responsibilities, even if he didn’t share Killmonger’s desire to use violence to achieve his goals. Jordan’s final scene in the film also gave Killmonger a memorable exit from the MCU, so much so that fans clamored for his return. Jordan even reprised his role as Killmonger in Marvel’s What If? animated series.
For his directorial debut, Fruitvale Station, Coogler cast Jordan as Oscar Grant III, a young Black man who was shot and killed in 2009 while he was detained and restrained by transit authorities in Oakland, California. The film follows Grant on the last day of his life as he tries to figure out a way to move forward.
Fruitvale Station doesn’t present Grant as a paragon of virtue, and he’s a complicated guy who has made mistakes. But at no point did Grant do anything to deserve what happened to him. This is a tragic story about a man whose life was ended too soon, and it put both Coogler and Jordan on the map as major players in Hollywood.
It’s been a long climb to stardom for Michael B. Jordan, but the 38-year-old has established himself as one of the premier talents under 40. Jordan showcased his bright future as Wallace on The Wire before parlaying that into more television success on Friday Night Lights and Parenthood. Over the past 15 years, Jordan has transformed from a good television actor to a legitimate movie star.
Jordan has even higher ambitions than just acting, transitioning into a talented producer and emerging director. With the release of Ryan Coogler’s Sinners, here are Jordan’s seven best movies.
This list only includes movies where Jordan portrayed the character for the first time. Apologies to the Creed sequels and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
7. That Awkward Moment (2014)
Focus Features
Every great actor needs their rom-com moment. For the Creed star, that came in 2014’s The Awkward Moment, the underrated comedy that featured three rising stars at the time in Jordan, Miles Teller, and Zac Efron. There is an art to picking up girls, and Jason (Efron) owns the playbook. With the help of Daniel (Teller), Jason is a proponent of hookup culture as he seemingly goes home with a new girl every night.
After their best friend Mikey (Jordan) experiences marital problems, the trio agrees to remain single and avoid relationships. As fate would have it, all three guys get involved in relationships, threatening their pact. Is That Awkward Moment formulaic? Sure. However, it’s a bro-com (bromantic comedy) with three handsome, charming leads that will one day become stars in Hollywood. We’ll take that any day of the week.
Rent or buy That Awkward Moment on Apple or Amazon.
6. Chronicle (2012)
20th Century Fox
Before Black Panther, this was Jordan’s initial launch into superhero culture. Shot with a found-footage approach, Chronicle follows Andrew (Dane DeHaan), a disturbed teenager who faces bullying at school and abuse from his father (Michael Kelly) at home. The only positives in Andrew’s life are his cousin Matt (Alex Russell) and a video camera.
One day, Andrew, Matt, and popular student Steve Montgomery (Jordan) investigate a giant hole in the woods that popped up overnight. They find a glowing object that gives them superpowers — telekensis and the ability to fly. The trio embrace their newfound powers, but Andrew’s dark side catches up with him, leading to a villianous turn. Considering how overstuffed the superhero genre has become, Chronicle is a fresh and unique approach to a familiar trope.
Speaking of superheroes, Jordan tackles the life of an exemplary individual in Just Mercy, a gripping courtroom drama. Harvard graduate Bryan Stevenson (Jordan) heads to Alabama to help people who cannot afford proper legal representation. Stevenson quickly establishes the Equal Justice Initiative with Eva Ansley (Brie Larson).
One of Stevenson’s first clients is Walter McMillian (Jamie Foxx), an African American man wrongly sentenced to die for murdering a white 18-year-old girl. While investigating the case, Stevenson uncovers evidence that will free McMillian. However, racism and bureaucratic injustices threaten Stevenson’s fight. With a stoic Jordan at the center and a terrific supporting performance from Foxx, Just Mercy shows what real courage looks like.
The first collaboration between Coogler and Jordan is arguably their most important. In a story that hits home for the Oakland-born Coogler, FruitvaleStation depicts the final day in the life of Oscar Grant (Jordan). The 22-year-old is trying to get his life back on track after his recent release from prison. Grant attempts to gain employment to support his girlfriend (Melonie Diaz) and young daughter (Ariana Neal).
After attending his mother’s birthday party, Oscar boards a train to San Francisco to watch the New Year’s Eve fireworks. It would be the last time Oscar would see his mother, as a fateful encounter with police ends his life. Fruitvale Station will sweep you up in a sea of emotions, from rage and hate to sadness and despair. It’s a tragic story treated with such grace and empathy from Coogler, who would go on to become one of Hollywood’s best young directors.
It’s early, but Sinnerseasily vaults to the upper echelon of Jordan’s career. Jordan has always been a star, but Sinners puts him in the rare air where his name, along with Coogler’s, can elevate an original story. Set in the Mississippi Delta during 1932, twins Smoke and Stack (Jordan in dual roles) return home after spending time in Chicago. Smoke and Stack use the money they stole from gangsters to purchase an abandoned mill with plans of setting up a juke joint for the Black community.
Opening night begins as a celebration with booze, music, and good times. The celebration becomes a nightmare after the arrival of Remmick (Jack O’Connell), a vampire with bad intentions. Sinners is a remarkable achievement in filmmaking thanks to Coogler’s direction, a sensational score, and a jaw-dropping musical number that will leave you speechless. It’s a must-see on the biggest screen possible.
Sinners is now in theaters.
2. Black Panther (2018)
Marvel Studios
Several superhero films changed the course of history. Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, The Dark Knight, and The Avengers instantly come to mind. Black Panther earned its spot in that hallowed club. After T’Chaka’s death, T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) returns to Wakanda to become the next king and the man who will become the next Black Panther.
Before establishing himself as king, T’Challa faces a challenge from Erik “Killmonger” Stevens (Jordan), his estranged cousin who grew up outside Wakanda and became a black ops mercenary. After Killmonger successfully gains control of Wakanda, T’Challa must rise from the ashes and embrace his destiny to ensure the safety of its people. From the performances and direction to the music and costumes, Black Panther is a true one-of-one that deserved its Best Picture nomination.
Creedshould not have worked. Making Rocky a secondary character in his own franchise was bold. Telling an origin story of Apollo Creed without Creed himself was risky. How many more underdog stories can be told through the eyes of a boxer? Then, you sit down and watch Creed, and all of those fears immediately disappear.
Adonis “Donnie” Johnson (Jordan) never knew his father, Apollo Creed. Like Apollo, Donnie has an affinity towards boxing and wants to be trained by Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone). A reluctant Rocky eventually becomes Donnie’s mentor, forming a strong bond in the process. Donnie gets his title shot, but his journey outside of the ring becomes the true opponent. Everyone — Jordan, Stallone, and Coogler — are at the top of their game in this spectacular sports drama that will only get better with time.
They are the children of the Black Panther party – the self-styled Panther cubs. Born into the 1970s revolutionary movement for Black equality and self-determination, they have lived in the shadows of a promised land that was never attained. We join them as they continue to wrestle, 50 years later, with the dichotomy of their extraordinary childhoods: the enormous pride and love it gave them as members of the Black Panther family, and the booming loss they endured – of parents, of security, and of the hope for radical change that did not materialise. That hope lives on in the cubs, and their reflections on America’s current crisis offers burning lessons for today
