Creed III ($274 Million Worldwide Box Office)

Michael B. Jordan is reportedly in talks to not only star in, but also direct, the third installment in the “Creed” film series. The news was first reported by Deadline within the context of a larger story about the studio MGM, which produced and distributed “Creed II” in 2018, and produced “Creed” with Warner Bros. distributing domestically in 2015. The first “Creed” film was helmed by Ryan Coogler, who directed Jordan in the films “Fruitvale Station” and “Black Panther.” “Creed II,” meanwhile, was directed by Steven Caple Jr. “Creed III” will mark the ninth installment in the “Rocky” franchise, dating back to the original starring Sylvester Stallone that won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1977. “Creed III” also marks Jordan’s feature directorial debut. He previously executive-produced “Creed II.”

Back in February it was reported by THR that Zach Baylin, the scribe behind the upcoming Will Smith vehicle “King Richard,” is penning the script for “Creed III.” The movie will continue the saga of Adonis Creed, played by Jordan. The original movie grossed $173 million at the worldwide box office. The second film earned more than $214 million around the world. Jordan was last seen in the 2019 racial justice drama “Just Mercy” as Bryan Stevenson. He’ll next be seen in “Tom Clancy’s Without Remorse,” currently in post-production to be released next year, and is lending his voice to the marvel series “What If…?”

Also announced is another Ryan Coogler film, “Wrong Answer.” With a screenplay by Ta-Nehisi Coates based on a New Yorker article by Rachel Aviv, the film centers on a math teacher in Atlanta who is scandalized when he looks to get funding for his school by altering his students’ test scores. Jordan is also reportedly in development on a new film from Danny Boyle, titled “Methuselah.” It’s an action/adventure story centered on a 1,000-year-old man who has used his time on the planet to develop an unparalleled set of survival skills.

Along with plenty of critical acclaim throughout his career, Jordan received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination in 2018 for producing the HBO movie “Fahrenheit 451,” directed by Ramin Bahrani.

UltimateMarvel wrote:Good for him but this one is really not needed.

Michael B. Jordan to Make Directorial Debut With ‘Creed III,’ Set for Thanksgiving 2022 Release

Michael B. Jordan will pull double duty on the newest “Creed” installment, starring in and directing “Creed III.”

MGM announced today that Jordan will make his directorial debut with the new film, which is set to be released in theaters on Nov. 23, 2022. Tessa Thompson and Phylicia Rashad are expected to return for the third installment, written by Keenan Coogler (“Space Jam: A New Legacy”) and Zach Baylin (“King Richard”), based on an outline by Ryan Coogler.

“Directing has always been an aspiration, but the timing had to be right. ‘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,” Jordan said in a statement.

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.”

Jordan stars in the boxing franchise as Adonis “Creed” Johnson, son of the fallen boxing champion Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) — Rocky Balboa’s (Sylvester Stallone) former foe turned friend, who was killed in a match versus Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren) in “Rocky IV.”

By taking on the role of director and star in the boxing film, Jordan also mimics his on-screen mentor Stallone, who directed four installments of the “Rocky” franchise — “Rocky II,” “Rocky III”, “Rocky IV” and 2006’s “Rocky Balboa.”

Jordan will also serve as a producer on the film, a Chartoff-Winkler Production, alongside Irwin Winkler, Charles Winkler, William Chartoff, David Winkler, Jonathan Glickman and Ryan Coogler, producing in association with Proximity Media. Executive producers are Adam Rosenberg, Sev Ohanian, and Zinzi Coogler.

“The films of Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky franchise have always been important to me and my family. It was an honor to help bring the Creed franchise to life with Sly, Michael, Tessa, Irwin, and all the creative parties involved,” Coogler said. “I couldn’t be more thrilled to see Mike in the director’s chair on the third installment. The team at Proximity and I are excited about the story Keenan and Zach have crafted and can’t wait to help bring it to life.”

Coogler relaunched the legendary IP with 2015’s “Creed” (which earned $173 million at the box office and a Golden Globe award for Stallone), while Steven Caple Jr. helmed 2018’s “Creed II,” (taking in another $214 million at the box office for MGM). The new film, dated for Thanksgiving, will be released theatrically in the U.S. via MGM’s distribution and marketing joint venture United Artists Releasing.

Of the new project, Michael De Luca, MGM’s Film Group Chairman, and Pamela Abdy, MGM’s Film Group President, added: “Michael’s vision for ‘Creed III’ is incredibly exciting and will undoubtedly be an important contribution to the cannon of this storied franchise. We are thrilled to bring his directorial debut, and share this next chapter in the Creed story, to theaters next year.”

In October, Deadline reported that Jordan was circling the option to direct the third “Creed” film, but Tessa Thompson (who co-stars as Creed’s love Bianca) confirmed the report in a Dec. 23 interview with MTV News. “He is directing the next ‘Creed,'” Thompson says, teasing that she’ll use Jordan’s new status as PEOPLE’s Sexiest Man Alive against him on set. “It’s going to be ammo, I think, for me when he is engaging with me as a director. I’m just going to tell him to dial down the sexiness.”

Ahead of “Creed 3,” Jordan stars in “Tom Clancy’s Without Remorse” and is currently filming the Denzel Washington-directed “Journal for Jordan.”

Rusty wrote:Still haven't seen the second film.

Creed 3 won't feature Rocky Balboa, says Sylvester Stallone. 1976’s original Rocky starred Stallone as Balboa, an underdog boxer improbably scoring a match against the world heavyweight champion Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers). A huge box office smash and award-winner, Rocky spawned multiple sequels, with Stallone eventually taking on directing duties as well as writing and starring.

But Stallone’s time as the main creative force behind the Rocky series came to an end with 2015’s Creed, a reboot focused on Apollo Creed’s son Adonis (Michael B. Jordan) and his own rise to become a boxing champion. Directed by Ryan Coogler, Creed featured Stallone’s Rocky as a supporting character, a move that netted the actor an Oscar nomination. After Creed was a huge hit, 2018 saw the release of Creed II, which again saw Rocky in support of Jordan’s Adonis Creed. In 2021 it was announced that a third Creed movie is going into production, with Jordan following the Stallone career path by taking on directorial duties.

Though Creed has now firmly established itself as a franchise in its own right, and arguably no longer needs the Rocky character to continue, there has been plenty of speculation about whether Stallone would return to again lend his presence on-screen alongside Jordan. However, Stallone seems to have now put all such speculation to bed. On Instagram, a fan who missed the news asked Stallone if Creed III is happening and he replied, “It will be done but I won’t be in it. Keep punching.”

Though it definitely appears that Stallone will not be back on-screen as Rocky in the next Creed movie, the actor is absolutely not done with the character. Indeed, Stallone has thrown out several of his own Rocky-related ideas in recent years. One idea shared in 2019 would have Rocky training an illegal immigrant to become a boxer. A second idea, shared recently, is for a Rocky prequel TV series. Stallone of course has been working on a director's cut of Rocky IV as well.

Indeed it’s no surprise to hear that Stallone as of now is focused on his own Rocky ideas and has no intention of coming back for Creed III. After the original Creed, the hand-off from Rocky to Adonis had been made effectively, and Rocky had his own triumphant arc as he beat cancer. Bringing Rocky back for the second film to essentially root on Adonis from the sidelines frankly felt a bit unnecessary and almost demeaning, though it was nice to see Stallone play the character one last time (and face off with Ivan Drago again). But now there really is no good reason to bring Rocky back, as the franchise has grown beyond him.

The question now becomes how will Creed III deal with Rocky’s departure? Killing Rocky off is always a possibility, though ending the character’s life off-screen might come across as an insult. The movie could also simply move on from Rocky without definitively ending his story, giving Stallone a chance to decide Rocky’s fate in some future project. Of course, there’s always the possibility that Stallone wants to be in Creed 3 and they want him, and Stallone is simply playing things close to the vest during negotiations. Stallone's habit of leaving characters behind only to eventually return means fans should never say never.

EXCLUSIVE: MGM and first-time director Michael B. Jordan have set their sights on Lovecraft Country star Jonathan Majors to be his adversary in the ring for Creed III, sources said. Negotiations are underway for Majors to star in the film as Adonis Creed’s ring nemesis.

It’s the latest big movie role looming for Majors, who is coming off the first season of the critically lauded HBO series Lovecraft Country. His rise to A-list from his 2019 breakout in The Last Black Man in San Francisco has been meteoric. Majors most recently co-starred in the Spike Lee-directed Da 5 Bloods for Netflix, and he is set to play Kang the Conqueror in Marvel’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. He will next be seen in the Jeymes Samuel-directed Western The Harder They Fall for Netflix, and Black Label Media’s Devotion.

The deal isn’t quite done yet and they are working through the logistics of Majors’ busy dance card. Tessa Thompson and Phylicia Rashad return for the third installment of the Rocky franchise spinoff, but Sylvester Stallone decided not to come back this time. The script is written by Zach Baylin and Keenan Coogler.

There will surely be some ring training involved, but Majors has the physicality to stand toe to toe with Jordan, and the Yale School of Drama MFA has the acting chops, too. Stay tuned.

MGM is betting big on the house of Drago.

The studio is developing “Drago,” a spinoff of “Creed” which itself is a spinoff of “Rocky,” the successful boxing franchise starring Sylvester Stallone as the ultimate underdog Rocky Balboa.

Robert Lawton has been hired to write the screenplay. He got the job after impressing MGM executives with his spec script “Becoming Rocky,” about the making of the first “Rocky” film, according to the Wrap, who first reported the news of Lawton’s hiring. Though the studio didn’t move ahead with his film idea, it appointed Lawton to build out a backstory on Soviet boxer Ivan Drago who took on Rocky in 1985’s “Rocky IV.” His character’s son Viktor Drago appeared in 2018’s “Creed II,” stepping into the ring against another offspring of Rocky’s rivals, Adonis Creed.

There had been rumblings that MGM wanted to make a movie about Drago, but nothing had ever been officially announced. MGM declined to comment.

“I think there’s some talk about doing a whole spinoff on Drago with MGM,” Dolph Lundgren, who played Ivan Drago, told the Hollywood Reporter in 2021. “So you may get more of that.”

It’s unclear if Lundgren or Florian Munteanu, who portrayed Viktor Drago, will reprise their roles in the spinoff of a spinoff story. Plot details are being kept under wraps.

Before the Drago family story hits the big screen, Adonis and company will return in “Creed III,” which is scheduled for March 01, 2023. Michael B. Jordan, who plays Adonis Creed, is directing the film in his feature debut. Munteanu, Tessa Thompson, Phylicia Rashad and Jonathan Majors co-star in the third “Creed” movie, which is the first “Rocky” film without Stallone at least making an appearance. He is still involved in the project, however, serving as a producer.

Sylvester Stallone has more to say about the Rocky franchise in light of MGM developing a film spinoff centering on Ivan Drago.

Stallone — who wrote the screenplay for 1976’s Oscar-winning Rocky, in which he starred as boxer Rocky Balboa — took to Instagram on Saturday to criticize the planned film Drago that is being written by Robert Lawton, as first reported this week by The Wrap. Although Stallone did not directly name anyone in his latest post, his mention of a “94-year-old producer” is an apparent reference to Irwin Winkler, who is 91 and has a producing credit on all of the films in the Rocky franchise, in addition to the subsequent Creed spinoff films.

“Another Heartbreaker… Just found this out…ONCE AGAIN , PATHETIC 94 year old PRODUCER and HIS SELFISH USELESS CHILDREN are once again picking what is left OFF THE BONES of another wonderful character!!!” Stallone wrote about Drago. “Seriously, how do you weasels look in mirror???”

The star continued, “I am sorry to the FANS , I APOLOGIZE to the FANS I never wanted ROCKY to be exploited FOR THIS GREED .. # no shame #sad day #Parasite.”

Drago is set to revisit Ivan Drago, portrayed by Dolph Lundgren in 1985’s Rocky IV and later in 2018’s Creed II. Lundgren had previously teased a potential spinoff film in a November 2021 interview with The Hollywood Reporter.

Stallone’s message follows his Instagram post from July 16 that criticized Winkler by name, referring to him as “the remarkably untalented and parasitical Producer of Rocky and Creed.” The post also criticized Irwin’s son David Winkler, who is credited as a producer on the Creed films, including the 2015 first film that starred Michael B. Jordan and earned Stallone an Oscar nomination for best supporting actor for reprising his role as Balboa.

In a follow-up post on July 17, Stallone wrote that he was upset over an ownership dispute related to the franchise. “I really would like [to] have at least a little WHAT’s LEFT of my RIGHTS back, before passing it on to ONLY YOUR CHILDREN – I believe That would be a FAIR gesture,” wrote Stallone, directing his vitriol at Irwin.

Both of those earlier posts have since been deleted.

Irwin Winkler and Robert Chartoff are credited as the sole producers on the first five Rocky films. The 2006 franchise-reviving Rocky Balboa credits six producers, including David Winkler and Irwin’s other son, Charles Winkler.

The Creed films center on Michael B. Jordan as the son of the late Apollo Creed, portrayed in the Rocky films by Carl Weathers. Stallone and Irwin Winkler are both credited as producers on the Creed movies, as are David and Charles, in addition to others. Chartoff was a producer on the first Creed before his 2015 death.

Last month, Stallone told Metro that he had “bowed out” of appearing in Creed III due to the story changing directions but that he supported the film. Creed III, hitting theaters March 3, 2023, counts Jordan as both director and star.

The character of Rocky Balboa originated with Stallone’s Rocky script in 1976, and his deal stipulated that he would play the title role. Stallone told Variety in 2019 that he had “zero ownership of Rocky” and that he was “furious” about this.

“Our commitment to him was that he could star in it,” Winkler recalled to The Hollywood Reporter in 1983 about making the first Rocky with Chartoff. “We convinced United Artists to give us the money to make it. They would only give us a limited amount of money, and they said that we had to put up our houses as collateral. We really mortgaged ourselves to make sure that we brought it in on time, and we did.”

Representatives for Irwin Winkler and Stallone did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

UltimateMarvel wrote:I didn't think I was going to enjoy the first 2 but they were good. Trailer looks good and good for MBJ to get his Directorial debut.

UltimateMarvel wrote:Damn! What the hell did these guys eat to get shredded like that?