The third entry in the Creed franchise will be filming later in 2021, with this news coming from none other than star Tessa Thompson, who let that factoid slip during a recent interview with MTV. The actress also let one other major piece of information out: Creed 3 will be directed by none other than star Michael B. Jordan, mirroring Sylvester Stallone’s eventual transition into director of the Rocky franchise.
We last saw Adonis “Donnie” Creed, son of Apollo, in 2018’s Creed 2, which made more than $200 million at the worldwide box office, making another sequel rather academic. The first film had been directed by eventual Black Panther helmer Ryan Coogler, while that sequel was directed by Steven Caple Jr. It’s unclear what kind of baddie could surpass the threat of Ivan Drago’s son from Creed 2, but perhaps we’ll somehow get the progeny of Mr. T’s Clubber Lang this time around? Anything is possible, given that this is a series that has long been defined by absurdity in its sequels in particular.
In speaking with MTV, Thompson joked about Jordan taking the helm of the series, wondering if she might be distracted by his still-recent win for “Sexiest Man Alive” via People magazine, saying the following: “He is directing the next Creed. So 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. But we’re not going to make it until later in the year so who knows what happens? I don’t know if he’ll still be the sexiest man alive in six months.”
There are few other details about the upcoming Creed 3, although it will reportedly be written by Zach Baylin, who also wrote the upcoming King Richard, a Will Smith-starring biopic about the father of tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams. Also unknown: whether Rocky himself, Sylvester Stallone, will factor into the next Creed installment, but when has he ever turned the chance in the past?
We’ll bring you more info on Creed 3 as it arrives.