Michael B. Jordan Is Bringing His Oscar Year to CultureCon 2026

The Sinners star and Outlier Society founder joins John Legend, Mahershala Ali, and Aaron Pierre on the lineup for the Oct. 3 and 4 festival at the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

Michael B. Jordan is headed to CultureCon 2026, joining the lineup for the two-day festival taking place Oct. 3 and 4 at the Duggal Greenhouse in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. The Academy Award winner will take the stage as a speaker, according to The Hollywood Reporter, which announced the news Thursday alongside a new wave of talent for the annual gathering of creatives, entrepreneurs and cultural leaders.

A Big Year on Both Sides of the Camera

Jordan arrives in Brooklyn after winning an Oscar earlier this year for his performance in Sinners, the Ryan Coogler film in which he played twin brothers. His next project puts him in the director’s chair for the second time: he directed, produced, and stars in The Thomas Crown Affair for Amazon MGM Studios, following his directorial debut with Creed III, which set the record for the biggest opening ever for a sports film.

The moment caps a career that began on television with The Wire and Fruitvale Station, his first film with Coogler, made him a leading man.

His slate behind the camera continues to grow. Jordan is working on The Greatest, Amazon’s series about Muhammad Ali expected in 2027, and he is producing a television adaptation of the bestselling fantasy novel Fourth Wing.

The Company Behind the Credits

Much of that work runs through Outlier Society, the production company Jordan founded in 2016. It was one of the first in Hollywood to adopt the inclusion rider, a contract provision that commits productions to diverse hiring in front of and behind the camera, and it has since signed first-look deals with Amazon Studios and Warner Bros.

Jordan’s commitment to access extends beyond his own sets. In 2019, he launched the Outlier Society Fellowship at the Obama Foundation’s MBK Rising! summit in Oakland. The program places students from underrepresented communities in paid summer internships across media, arts, and entertainment, with mentorship from industry leaders, including Jordan himself. As he put it at the launch, “pulling up a seat to the table for the next group of cultural leaders is the greatest investment we can make as a community.”

The industry has taken notice. Jordan has been named to the Time100 list, received the Academy Museum Vanguard Award, earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and in November 2025 was honored with the 39th American Cinematheque Award.

Who Else Is Taking the Stage

Jordan is part of a new round of additions that includes Aaron Pierre, star of DC’s Lanterns, along with rappers Wale and Tobe Nwigwe. They join a previously announced roster that already spans music, film, sports, beauty and television.

That list includes EGOT winner John Legend, two-time Oscar winner Mahershala Ali, Oscar winner Daniel Kaluuya and Emmy winner Niecy Nash-Betts. Comedian and talk show host Sherri Shepherd is on the program, as are former NFL quarterback and activist Colin Kaepernick, Love Island USA fan favorite Olandria Carthen and Miles Caton, who made his acting debut opposite Jordan in Sinners. Beauty founder Danessa Myricks of Danessa Myricks Beauty, NASCAR driver Rajah Caruth and entertainment host Scott Evans round out the lineup.

From a Harlem Apartment to the Navy Yard

CultureCon was founded by Imani Ellis, who started the gathering as intimate meetups in her Harlem apartment before building it into one of the largest festivals for Black and Brown creatives in the country. Ellis is the founder and CEO of the CultureCon Collective, a year-round community for creative professionals, and her work has earned her induction into the Advertising Hall of Fame and a spot on Time’s 2024 list of Closers of the Wealth Gap. Past CultureCon speakers include Tracee Ellis Ross, Issa Rae, Spike Lee and Regina King.

Welcome to the Museum of Us

This year’s theme, “Museum of Us,” frames the festival as a living gallery of the people shaping business, entertainment, art and community right now. The festival expects 12,000 creative entrepreneurs, creators, and cultural leaders across two days of workshops, conversations, and activations. As the festival puts it, “the most important work of art are the people in the room.”

The campus includes the Culture Stage for headline conversations and a Creative Business Stage built for creatives turning their work into companies, from landing a first client to scaling up. A Career Lounge brings recruiters from brands including HBO Max and Nike, with speed networking all weekend, and Braindate makes its CultureCon debut this year to help guests connect with the people they came to meet. Guests can also shop Black-owned brands at the Small Business Market and stop through Activation Alley, where partners including Pinterest and Chase Ink host experiences.

Your CultureCon Weekend Plan

CultureCon Week events run Sept. 28 through Oct. 1 across New York City, followed by a kickoff party on Oct. 2. Festival doors open at 8:30 a.m. on both Oct. 3 and Oct. 4, with programming from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. each day. Attendees must be 18 or older; payment plans are available, and a Digital Pass offers access to replays for those who cannot attend in person. Tickets are available now through CultureCon.