‘Black Panther’ Star Michael B. Jordan Reveals Why He’s Taking a Major Career Break Next Year

Michael B. Jordan has spent the better part of the last two years in constant motion, moving from film set to film set with barely a pause in between. Between a career-defining Oscar campaign and a packed slate of upcoming projects, the actor has built a reputation as one of Hollywood’s most relentless working stars.

That nonstop pace finally caught up with him in a way few fans knew about until now. Jordan covers Vogue’s October 2026 issue, and buried within the career retrospective is a revealing look at just how demanding the past year has actually been behind the scenes.

The actor confirmed he plans to step away from acting for most of 2027, telling the magazine he intends to take the rest of next year off once his current commitments wrap. He explained that the time away would give him space to properly reflect and process everything he’s accomplished, admitting that he’s simply been moving nonstop without much room to sit with any of it.

Jordan’s decision to take a break traces back directly to what happened immediately after his historic Oscar win. He took home Best Actor at the Academy Awards in March for his dual portrayal of twin brothers Smoke and Stack in ‘Sinners,’ beating out a field that included Timothée Chalamet, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ethan Hawke, and Wagner Moura.

The victory came with an unexpected physical toll. Jordan got sick the very next day, spending four days recovering with the help of an IV drip while friends who had flown in from New Jersey celebrated around him. He described the experience as his body finally reaching its limit after the grueling awards season, comparing it to reaching the finish line and having his body essentially shut down once the job was done.

Jordan isn’t stepping away just yet, though. He’s currently directing, producing, and starring in a new version of ‘The Thomas Crown Affair,’ which is set to hit theaters on March 5, 2027, and he’s also attached to a reboot of ‘Miami Vice’ alongside Austin Butler, along with producing the ‘Creed’ spin-off series ‘Delphi.’

Once press for ‘The Thomas Crown Affair’ wraps in the spring, that’s when Jordan says the real break will begin. He’s even floated a more dramatic possibility for what comes after that, joking about the idea of walking away from acting entirely to focus on developing anime projects, something Vogue noted he seemed only partly serious about given his early-stage involvement in that space already.

This isn’t the first time Jordan has hinted at wanting to slow down. In an earlier GQ interview, he spoke about wanting to reach a place where his life wouldn’t have to change if he suddenly decided not to work for a year, expressing hope that a natural pause point was coming even as he admitted he’d been saying that for roughly a decade without acting on it.

That pattern makes the specificity of his 2027 plans stand out. ‘Sinners’ itself marked Jordan’s fifth collaboration with director Ryan Coogler, following ‘Fruitvale Station,’ ‘Creed,’ and two ‘Black Panther’ films, and the movie became both a critical and commercial success, grossing $369 million globally while earning a record 16 Oscar nominations.

Vogue kept details about Jordan’s personal life relatively vague throughout the interview, with speculation about his romantic life, including recent sightings with singer Raye, going unaddressed directly. For now, the clearest picture Jordan has offered is professional: one more major release, then a genuine step back to figure out what comes next, whether that means returning to acting, pursuing anime full time, or something else entirely.

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