The legend of Rocky Balboa has lived on, but not necessarily through Creed. Rather, Adonis has a reputation of his own now, and that’s clearly shown in the latest installment of the spin-off movie series, ‘Creed III.’
The recently dropped trailer from MGM and United Artists puts the highlight on Michael B Jordan’s “Donnie” Creed, back again on the screen but this time, in the ring with Jonathan Majors.
In the beginning of the trailer, Creed is certainly on top—“I spent the last seven years of my life living out my wildest dreams,” the champion boxer says. Flashes of himself on the cover of Forbes, and winning fights are some of the memories shown on screen, all while his wife Bianca (Tessa Thompson), who also happens to have her own triumphant path in music, and daughter Amara, (Mila Davis-Kent) are right by his side.
‘Creed III’. Eli Ade © 2022 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc.
“Bianca. Rocky. My dad. I stood on their shoulders,” Creed continues in the first sneak peek of the highly anticipated film.
Not long after, we find out the connection between Major’s character, Dame, and the title boxer we’ve seen—Dame has spent the last 18 years in prison, and Creed knew him as a young kid. He was even there when he was arrested, and it becomes obvious they are connected on a deeper level than just old acquaintances.
Growing up, the duo both boxed—and Major’s protagonist starts to come out at this point—with him claiming that “he was always better” than Donnie. At first, the two seem copacetic, and Creed offers to help Dame. But things escalate.
“Imagine spending half your life in a cell watching somebody else live your life,” we see the newly freed Dame yell as the trailer goes on. He then makes it clear to Creed that he’s “coming for everything.”
And he certainly tries. As you may have anticipated, the trailer leads to a training sequence and then to the ring—it’s the formula that has kept the franchise alive, and it’s the one audiences can’t get enough of.
What is different about this movie is the absence of Sylvester Stallone, but also, the addition of Michael B. Jordan as the director. It’s always been something that has been on the young actor’s mind according to him, but it took ‘Creed’ director Ryan Coogler giving the advice to “jump in the deep end and go for it” that really cemented this latest venture for Jordan.
“I finally got to this place in my career where I wanted to tell a story and not just be in front of the camera, not just execute somebody else’s vision. Having a character that I’ve played twice before — it’s been seven, eight years living with this guy — so to be able to tell the story of where I believe Adonis is at,” the actor explained to reporters at a global press conference. “And also at 35 years old, I had a lot to say, as a young Black man, just my life experiences and how I could actually share a piece of myself with the world through these characters and through the story.”
And with every great hero story comes the protagonistic driving force of the story. We’ve seen some of the greater foes come out from both the ‘Rocky’ and ‘Creed’ series with Drago—and his son for that matter, Clubber Lang and ‘Pretty’ Ricky Conlan closing in on ranks. However with Dame in ‘Creed III,’ it brings back the deeper rivalry that the whole franchise is known for.
Jordan says it himself that Major’s character is a pivotal person and a pillar in Adonis’ life, and that connection gets addressed in this film both in the ring and outside of it.
“For me, as a director, to have that running mate and that scene partner made all the difference in the world,” Jordan continues. “The world is finding out daily how incredible this man is and the work that he does. It’s finally getting the props that it’s due. And Jonathan was incredible, man, he showed up every day ready. Ready to go to war. Ready to work.”
We can all see how that work pays off in 2023.
‘Creed III’ marks the third installment to the series, which has amassed $377 million worldwide. It’s also the ninth installment to the ‘Rocky’ series. The film hits theaters next year, on March 3, 2023.
Catch the trailer below:
