When you have an actor who is as high profile as Michael B. Jordan making a cameo in a big budget movie, the secret will often leak out at some point. Yet when Jordan played a small, but integral role in this summer's Kin, the secret was so safe that many people still don't know the actor was in the movie. The story of why the cameo was kept secret, and what it meant for Kin, can be seen in the exclusive special features clip below:
While Michael B. Jordan's name can be found in Kin's credits as one of the film's producers, not even that fact lead to someone stumbling upon the fact that he plays the "male Cleaner" in the film. It's even wilder that both Cleaner characters are prominently featured in the film's marketing campaign. Though in that respect, it does help the characters are wearing tinted helmets.
The fact that Kin didn't lean heavy on Michael B. Jordan's secret role is a bit of a shock considering the actor is a big name in Hollywood right now. It's even more surprising considering the film is a proposed start to a new series of films. Considering Jordan's "Cleaner" character reveals a twist to the narrative once he is introduced in the film's third act, I'm a little surprised the flick didn't sell the actor's inclusion. This isn't the first time this has happened this year, however, as Deadpool 2 notably didn't sell the fact that Matt Damon appeared in the flick heavily in costume earlier this year. That news only came out after the movie's release.
So how did Michael B. Jordan's big Kin role stay secret for so long? Well, the film's writers / directors Jonathan and Josh Baker seem to confirm in the video above that it all came down to just consciously leaving that big reveal out of the trailers.
Rather than telegraphing Kin's total complement of surprises and story beats, the trailers just sell a story involving two adopted brothers, played by Myles Truitt and Jack Reynor, on the run from the presumably villainous "Cleaners." That's not the only surprise the film's marketing hid from its potential audience, as Kin is a film that i surprisingly dark when compared to how the movie was advertised initially.
Michael B. Jordan's role in Kin isn't substantial in terms of his screen time. However, if a franchise or spinoff ever comes down the pipeline, Jordan's Cleaner, and the exposition he drops in the film's third act, are the keys to making it happen. The fact this special features is now being released to the public with Kin's Home Entertainment release makes me more intrigued than ever to see where a potential follow-up could go, should it ever happen.
If you're now curious to see how this twist pans out, or if you're just excited to see some more Michael B. Jordan action, you can check out Kin as it arrives on digital HD tomorrow. Physical media releases will follow later this month. In fact, the 4K UHD, Blu-ray, and DVD release for the film is scheduled for November 20th, but you can pre-order a copy now.
