Creed 3 is officially moving forward. The spinoff series starring Michael B. Jordan is two movies in and there’s no indication of anyone at the studio throwing in the towel (sorry).
That’s because Zach Baylin has been hired to write the script for the third entry in the franchise, which follows Adonis Creed (Jordan), the son of Apollo Creed who fought Rocky Balboa on more than one occasion before dying in the ring at the hands of Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren) in Rocky IV.
Baylin’s only other credited screenplay is the upcoming Will Smith drama, King Richard, which tells the story of Venus and Serena Williams and their rise to fame in the tennis world. Smith is playing their father, Richard Williams, and the screenplay was featured on the Black List, the list of the best un-produced scripts in Hollywood.
Of course, Ryan Coogler wrote and directed the original Creed back in 2015 to critical acclaim. The movie earned more than $170 million at the worldwide box office and star Sylvester Stallone wound up with an Oscar nomination. Coogler didn’t return for the sequel though and instead made a little movie called Black Panther for Marvel.
Stallone, who’s co-written and directed several Rocky films, co-wrote Creed II with Juel Taylor. The follow-up was directed by newcomer Steven Caple Jr. and while it eventually earned more than the original ($213 million worldwide), it wasn’t the critical darling that the first pic was.
The other obstacle facing the project, aside from getting a script in place, is finding time for Jordan to shoot it. As one of the busiest and most in-demand stars in Hollywood, his schedule is pretty packed and only getting more crowded. Still, given that the first Creed was excellent and the second one still pretty impressive, too, we’re hopeful he can make time to finish off the trilogy.