Friends and longtime collaborators Matt Damon and Ben Affleck will team up once again to tell the story of Nike’s landmark sneaker deal with Michael Jordan.
Affleck will direct, but both actors will write, produce and star in the yet-titled sports drama from Amazon Studios and Skydance Sports, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Damon will lead as former Nike executive Sony Vaccarro across from Affleck’s Nike co-founder Phil Knight. The plot will follow the sportswear giant’s effort to sign the then-rising NBA star in the mid-1980s, a seemingly impossible endorsement engineered by the maverick sneakers salesman Vaccarro.
The deal would of course spawn the ubiquitous Air Jordan brand and almost single-handedly launch the multi-billion dollar sneaker industry.
THR has more details on the story:
The story will focus on Vaccarro’s relentless quest to sign Jordan to what was then the third place shoe company, a journey that took him to Jordan’s parents, and in particular his powerful, dynamic mother, as well as to former coaches, advisors, and friends. Jordan will be a mythic figure hovering above the movie and never seen, even as Vaccarro tries to reach him by gaining access to those close to him and around him.
Key in the proceedings is the 2015 ESPN 30 for 30 documentary titled Sole Man that centered on Vaccaro and his story. Skydance Sports president Jon Weinbach, who served alongside Mandalay chairman Guber as one of the producers of the Emmy-winning Jordan series The Last Dance, was integral in obtaining Vaccaro’s life rights.
Affleck and Damon famously starred in and wrote the script for the 1997’s Good Will Hunting, which won them an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. The pair previously reunited on-screen for 2021’s underrated The Last Duel, directed by Ridley Scott.
Although this is Affleck’s fifth directorial effort—his 2012 movie Argo claimed Best Picture—it will be his first time directing Damon.