A week after it was confirmed that Sylvester Stallone won’t be reprising his iconic role as Rocky in Creed III, lead star Michael B. Jordan has opened up about the decision of moving forward without the involvement of the franchise’s seminal character. Speaking with IGN, Jordan revealed that one of the main reasons why Stallone’s Rocky won’t return is that moving forward they really want to build the story and the world of the Creed franchise around Adonis.
“Yeah, I think that Sly let it be known that he wasn’t coming back for this one but I think, you know, his essence and his spirit… there’s always going to be a little bit of Rocky within Adonis,” Jordan said. “But this is a Creed franchise, and we really want to build this story and this world around him moving forward. So, it’s always respect and always a sh*t-ton of love for what he’s built, but we really want to push and navigate Adonis forward and the family that he created. So, hopefully you guys will love what I’m thinking… what we’re cooking up. I think it’s going to be something special.”
For Stallone’s performance in 2015’s Creed he earned his third Oscar nomination for the same role. Even though Rocky won’t be included in Creed III, Stallone is currently developing another installment to the main franchise, which he has been working on since 2019.
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On top of leading the new installment, Creed III will officially mark Michael B. Jordan’s feature directorial debut. Plot details are still unknown, but the script is being penned by Keenan Coogler (Space Jam: A New Legacy) and Zach Baylin (King Richard) on a story outline from original co-writer/director Ryan Coogler (Black Panther).
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The film is being produced by Charles Winkler, William Chartoff and David Winkler via Chartoff-Winkler Productions in association with Proximity Media alongside Jonathan Glickman, Jordan and Coogler, while Adam Rosenberg, Sev Ohanian and Zinzi Coogler are all set as executive producers.
Creed III is currently set to arrive in theaters on November 23, 2022.
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Creed II released back in 2018 to great reviews from critics, currently maintaining an 83 percent “Certified Fresh” rating from critics on review aggregate Rotten Tomatoes and a worldwide box office take of over $214 million, which was a marked increase over the original’s $173 million take.
