It looks like actor Michael B. Jordan (Black Panther) is not only stepping back into the ring for another Creed movie, he’s also making a move behind the camera, too.
During a recent interview with MTV, Jordan’s co-star, Tessa Thompson (Thor: Ragnarok), confirmed that “People’s 2020 Sexiest Man Alive” would direct the next sequel in the Rocky franchise, Creed III. Thompson also said the movie would go into production “later in [2021].” (Thompson’s confirmation comes at the 10:51 mark of the video below.)
Rumors about Jordan making his directorial debut with a Creed sequel have been swirling around Hollywood since 2018 when Oscar-winning producer Irwin Winkler (Rocky) wrote in his book Life in Movies: Stories From 50 Years in Hollywood that he “promised Michael B. Jordan that he’d get his chance to direct Creed III.”
Now, we know Winkler is a man of his word and that he is still confident in having his leading men direct themselves in a movie. After the original Rocky won the Oscar for Best Picture in 1976, its star Sylvester Stallone took over the director’s chair for four sequels, Rocky II, Rocky III, Rocky IV and Rocky Balboa.
After Rocky Balboa hit theaters in 2006, fans assumed the franchise had run its course. However, when up-and-coming director Ryan Coogler (Fruitvale Station) pitched a story about a film that followed Adonis Creed, the son of Rocky character Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers), and his own rise in the boxing world, the series was resurrected. Fans and critics loved Creed when it debuted in 2015 with Jordan in the title role. Creed II also made an impact in 2018.
Creed III will likely be a success at the box office as well. Now, the only question remaining is if the script will include the son of Clubber Lang (Mr. T’s villain character in Rocky III).
