Longtime fans of the Rocky franchise were left equal parts surprised and saddened when it was confirmed by both Michael B. Jordan and Sylvester Stallone that the Italian Stallion wasn’t part of Creed III, which marks the former’s directorial debut.
Not only has Adonis been learning the ropes from Rocky Balboa in the movies, but Jordan has clearly picked up a thing or two from Stallone, who helmed four of the first six installments. Creed III is expected to begin production this month with a tentative release date of November 23, 2022 locked in, and the leading man will be finding himself up against another one of the industry’s fastest-rising talents.
Jonathan Majors signed on to play Donnie’s next in-ring rival a few months back, marking another major project for the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Kang the Conqueror. In a recent interview with NME, the actor teased that Jordan is planning to have Creed III stand out from all eight of its predecessors.
“Michael is really trying to do something different with this Creed. Something that’s a bit more intimate. With intimacy comes complexity. It’s he and I. It’s a story about these two men trying to work something out, and it’s very different from the others.”
The first two spinoffs won rave reviews and did a solid turn at the box office, so Creed III is well-placed to find success even without the huge void that’ll be left by Stallone’s absence, but seeing Jordan and Majors go toe-to-toe in one of the property’s signature epic slugfests promises a phenomenal third act at the very least.