Creed III is the first film in the Rocky series that does not include Sylvester Stallone as Rocky Balboa. It’s a little sad that we won’t see Rocky again, but after 40 years of playing the character, Stallone had previously announced his retirement saying, “It has been my utmost privilege to have been able to create and play this meaningful character. Even though it breaks my heart, sadly all things must pass…and come to an end. I love you kind and giving people, and the most wonderful thing of all is that ROCKY will never die because he lives in you.”
Michael B. Giordano now carry that torch in Creed III, which sees Adonis “Donnie” Creed take on an old friend from his past, Damian, played by Jonathan Major. During a recent interview with HOT 97, Jordan opened up about Rocky’s absence from this film and how the franchise is moving forward without the iconic character. He explains that the upcoming film is all about bringing Adonis out of Apollo and Rocky’s shadow to “advance the franchise.”
“First of all, the DNA of Sly and Rocky runs through the entire franchise. You can’t have these movies [without that]. That underdog spirit, I think, connects the underdog in all of us. I think what we love so much about these movies is that we see someone going through hardship, who is able to rise from the ashes and reach the top of the mountain, and we connect with that. For us, we connect with characters who can do the same, and that’s what we want to do with Adonis Creed.”
Jordan went on to explain that the former I believe “it was very much about Rocky and Apollo” and the second film was about Adonis “trying to step out of Apollo Creed’s shadow and be comfortable in his own skin.” He made peace with his father’s death after fighting Viktor Drago (Florian Munteanu), son of Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren) who killed his father in the ring.
After those films, Jordan wanted Creed III to “stand on the shoulders of Adonis” and explained the story he wanted to tell with the character by saying:
“I want Adonis to stand on his own. To do that, we had to go into the past. What were those transformative years, those childhood traumas that shaped [Adonis] Today? I think the room for this story was really about Adonis Creed moving on with his family and keeping him going. That’s how we developed the story for this film.”
It makes sense to take Creed’s story in that direction, but it’s a direction Stallone didn’t seem too happy with. Stallone previously said: “This is a sorry situation because I know what could have been. It’s been taken in a direction that is very different than how I would have taken it. It’s a different philosophy – that of Irwin Winkler and Michael B. Jordan”. I wish them well, but I’m much more of a sentimentalist. I like my heroes to get beaten up, but I don’t want them to go into that dark space. I just feel that people have enough darkness. “
Regardless of what Sly says, Creed III looks like a great movie and I’m excited to watch it this weekend! Have you seen Creed III yet? If yes, what do you think?
by Joey Paur
Source: Geek Tyrant
Lloyd Grunewald is an author at “The Fashion Vibes”. He is a talented writer who focuses on bringing the latest entertainment-related news to his readers. With a deep understanding of the entertainment industry and a passion for writing, Lloyd delivers engaging articles that keep his readers informed and entertained.
