Brady docuseries not QB's 'Last Dance,' says director

Tom Brady's upcoming ESPN nine-part documentary series "The Man In The Arena" is already drawing comparisons to Michael Jordan's "The Last Dance," but director Gotham Chopra says the two will be very different.

Chopra maintains the Brady docuseries will offer a different perspective since the quarterback hasn't had nearly as long as Jordan to reflect on his career.

"It's not Tom Brady's 'Last Dance,'" Chopra told Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated. "It's not that. That may or may not exist 20 years from now, I don't know. There's this sort of immediacy to this. ... The premise (of 'The Last Dance') was telling stories about the seasons, whereas (Brady's), it does feel a little bit more real time. Tom continues to be an active player. So the idea is, 'OK, let's talk about these nine seasons, this incredible body of work across 20 years, and how it's still sort of affecting him.'"

Chopra, who previously worked with Brady on the Facebook Watch series "Tom vs. Time," also confirmed the documentary will touch on the New England Patriots' Spygate and Deflategate scandals.

"Yeah, we will (address that)," Chopra said. "I just know from knowing Tom all these years now, Tom's constantly, like a lot of elite athletes, figuring out ways to motivate himself and go at it again. Does he really need to at this point of his career? No. But he still loves it, he's still finding ways to motivate himself and those things definitely have a big impact. I've never found with Tom where he says, 'Dude, I'm not talking about that.' He's very candid and willing to speak about stuff."

The documentary is scheduled to air on ESPN in 2021.

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