Back for more! Following two successful Creed films, based on the Rocky movies, a third iteration was officially announced in March 2021 after much speculation.
“Directing has always been an aspiration, but the timing had to be right,” the franchise’s leading man, Michael B. Jordan, explained via a statement about the upcoming picture. “Creed III is that moment — a time in my life where I’ve grown more sure of who I am, holding agency in my own story, maturing personally, growing professionally and learning from the greats like Ryan Coogler, most recently Denzel Washington, and other top tier directors I respect. All of which sets the table for this moment.”
He continued, “This franchise and in particular the themes of Creed III are deeply personal to me. I look forward to sharing the next chapter of Adonis Creed’s story with the awesome responsibility of being its director and namesake.”
Few details about the anticipated boxing film have been revealed, save for a few key teases from the Journal for Jordan star about his creative vision.
“I’ve been acting for over 20 years, and over time your taste buds start to evolve and develop and you want to tell stories yourself,” the California native told Yahoo Entertainment in April 2021 about crafting the next chapter. “Creed is the first character I’m coming back to play three times. I’ve been daydreaming about the opportunity and had a clear vision of where I want this character to go moving forward. I’m looking forward to sharing the story with everybody.”
The first Creed sequel, which debuted in November 2015, saw Sylvester Stallone’s now-retired Rocky Balboa take on the role of coach as he trained former rival Apollo Creed’s son, Adonis (Jordan). Amid the Parenthood alum’s starring role in the seventh Rocky franchise film, he couldn’t but gush over working with the legendary action star.
“Sly is savvy! He actually gave me some style tips,” Jordan exclusively told Us Weekly in November 2015. “I’m a man who loves wearing suits, but he has more suits than I do. I remember one time he came in just completely overdressed. He just completely blew me out of the water. I was like, ‘This is never happening again!’ And he was like, ‘You always need to come prepared.’ So from then on, whenever I’m at an event with him, I’m coming correct!”
Jordan also teased that Stallone taught him how to “throw punches,” joking that the “old dog’s still got a little bite to him!”
In the film, Jordan acted opposite Tessa Thompson, who played Adonis’ love interest and aspiring singer, Bianca Taylor.
“Tessa is amazing,” Jordan recalled of the Thor: Ragnarok star at the time. “She’s such a giving actress, and she’s collaborative. We definitely had a lot of chemistry, so she made it easy to go back and forth and find the creative moments between these two characters.
Thompson has since reprised her role in the second Creed flick and confirmed her involvement in the forthcoming sequel.
“We’re going to make another Creed very soon,” the Sylvie’s Love star told MTV News in December 2020 while gushing about her onscreen love interest. “I’m proud of him. I’m so happy for him.”
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