Excellence: 8 Fights will be a new series of events about the life of Muhammad Ali with an unusual approach. As the title teases, Ali’s life is shown in eight episodes through eight extraordinary fights in his career. Each episode focuses on a different fight – which also includes a lot of boxing action. It is precisely the excellent staging of the fights in the ring that makes the series “Creed” so successful and popular. Can “Excellence: 8 Fights” build on that?
In any case, the fights should not be everything. According to the official announcement, while each episode is framed by a battle, “but the essence of the episode, what really matters is the inner struggle – the drama outside the ring”. It aims to “examine the struggles in the heart and mind of one of the most important and controversial personalities of the 20th century”. The people behind the camera are also very interesting – especially in one case.
By Morgan Freeman and ‘Bridgerton’ star Regé-Jean Page
The new series comes from Oscar-winning screenwriter Kevin Willmott, among others. Hollywood legend Morgan Freeman and his production company Revelations Entertainment are also involved in the miniseries. Slightly more surprising is the name of another actor in the producing lineup: Regé-Jean Page.
This is reported by the industry magazine there is currently (!) no contract for Regé-Jean Page to also star as Muhammad Ali. But the assumption is very close that this is at least an option. The ‘Bridgerton’ star would follow in the footsteps of Will Smith, among others. In Michael Mann’s 2001 “Ali,” he gave probably the best-known interpretation of the boxing legend to date.
“Excellence: 8 Fights” on Muhammad Ali at Peacock
Incidentally, the eight-part event series “Excellence: 8 Fights” is made exclusively for streaming service Peacock. Jonathan Eig’s biography “Ali: Ein Leben” serves as a template, which is considered the definitive work on the boxer. Author Eig is also involved as a producer.
No schedule has yet been announced for Excellence: 8 Fights, so we can’t predict when the series will come to Peacock. It is also unclear where the series will appear in Germany. In this country, Peacock was part of Sky’s offer for a short time, but the offers then disappeared after less than a year and the end of the licensing deal. It is currently unknown whether and in what form Peackock will come to Germany again or whether the exclusive productions of the provider belonging to Universal will simply continue to be individually licensed to changing partners.
On the other hand, we can tell you about Regé-Jean Page that you will soon be able to see it in the cinema. Because on March 30, 2023, the role-playing game adaptation “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves” will start, in which he plays a leading role alongside Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez and Sophia Lillis, among others.