During 2015 the legacy-sequel to the Rocky series, Creed, received a warm reception from critics with Michael B. Jordan in the lead role and Sylvester Stallone turning in one of his career best performances in a supporting role.
From a modest production budget the film was also a financial success, so naturally a sequel is on the way with Jordan continuing in the main role. Ryan Coogler was the director on Creed, he was relatively unknown at the time but has moved on to big things with the Marvel film Black Panther currently in post-production.
Unfortunately Coogler doesn’t seem to be returning to the boxing franchise he reignited, and Sylvester Stallone has revealed himself as the director and producer on Creed 2. Stallone made the announcement on Instagram with the following comment:
Looking forward to directing and producing the incredible talented Michael B Jordan in Creed 2 next year…..One more Round!”
Stallone has more than a few big pictures in his director filmography, going back to 1979 with Rocky 2, and more recently with The Expendables in 2010. As a producer as well he’s clearly going to have a lot of creative control with the film, but with his success have also been a few less memorable efforts, so how this one turns out will be interesting. With an excellent film already established and a great lead actor Creed 2 has a lot going for it, hopefully Stallone is able to weave something together that delivers just as well as the previous film.