Netflix’s New Fantasy Movie Extends Michael B. Jordan’s Rare 5-Year Rotten Tomatoes Streak

Michael B. Jordan‘s triumphant run continues with his new Netflix fantasy movie.

After starting his career in the late 1990s as a child actor, Jordan quickly became one of Hollywood’s most sought-after stars. Earlier this year, the actor eventually reached the zenith of his career when he won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his dual role in Sinners. Since his Oscar victory, Jordan hasn’t slowed down his acting pursuits, with many films either in development or ready to release.

His first post-Sinners movie is Netflix’s animated film, Swapped, in which he voices a brown sea otter who transforms into a green-feathered bird. Most of his movies tend to be intense or mature, but the PG-rated Netflix film opens to a wider audience, such as younger audiences and families. That has worked in the movie’s favor, as the audience score is currently an 87% on Rotten Tomatoes, a significant improvement from the critics’ score of 68%.

In addition, Swapped extends Jordan’s Rotten Tomatoes streak, as his last four movies earned higher than an 85% audience score on the site. This record has lasted for five years, which started with A Journal for Jordan (95%) and continued with Creed III (95%) and Sinners (96%).

Reviews of Swapped have been generally positive, with praise directed towards the stunning visuals, its heartwarming themes of communication, empathy, and friendly animal characters, with the chemistry between Jordan and his co-stars as the highlight. However, the story is not inventive, with critics noting that it’s formulaic and recycles a familiar adventure concept and tropes.

In fact, the movie was released two months after Pixar dropped a similar body-swapping movie with animals. Critics compared the films, with many considering Swapped to be inferior to Hoppers, which earned a higher Rotten Tomatoes score of 94% and an equally impressive 93% audience score. Nevertheless, most agree that Swapped is still a worthwhile watch for families who crave a new adventure quest.

Swapped marks Jordan’s first animated movie since 2013, when he voiced Cyborg in Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox. He also did some voice work in television series like The Boondocks and Marvel Studios’ What If?, in which he reprised his villain Erik Killmonger.

Although Swapped is Jordan’s only movie releasing in 2026, his next feature is the upcoming remake of The Thomas Crown Affair, in which he directs and stars. That crime thriller is scheduled for March 5, 2027. In addition, he has several films in development, including another vampire movie, Blood Brothers, and I Am Legend 2 with Will Smith. It was also announced that Jordan will portray Ricardo Tubbs in a Miami Vice remake with Austin Butler as Sonny Crockett.

The Swapped cast features Jordan, Juno Temple, Tracy Morgan, Cedric the Entertainer, and Justina Machado, while Nathan Greno helms the directorial role. The screenplay was written by John Whittington, Christian Magalhaes, and Robert Snow, who also worked on the script with Greno and Adam Karp.

Swapped is now streaming on Netflix.

Release Date

May 1, 2026

Runtime

102 minutes

Director

Nathan Greno

Writers

Christian Magalhaes, John Whittington, Robert Snow

Producers

John Lasseter, Mary Ellen Bauder, Dana Goldberg, David Ellison