The 'Black Panther' actor is reportedly in talks to direct the follow-up to 2018's 'Creed II', in which he's also expected to reprise his role as Adonis Johnson.
- October 26, 2020
AceShowbiz - Michael B. Jordan is looking to expand his resume with directing credit and his first project as a director could be "Creed 3". The actor is reportedly in talks to serve at the helm for the third installment of the "Rocky" spin-off franchise, which he also stars in.
The news was first shared by Deadline when reporting the possibility of "No Time to Die" being sold off to a streaming service like Netflix, Amazon and Apple after several release delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the report which described the James Bond franchise as "MGM's crown jewel," the site casually revealed that "MGM is working on a 'Creed' sequel that Michael B Jordan is considering to direct."
While it has not been confirmed how far the talk about Jordan making his directorial debut with "Creed 3" is, he's expected to return and reprise his role as Adonis Johnson, the illegitimate son of the late Apollo Creed, who is at the center of the stories in the first and second movie. He also served as executive producer for "Creed II".
In his book "A Life in Movies: Stories From 50 Years in Hollywood" which was published in 2019, producer Irwin Winkler mentioned that he had promised Jordan that "he'd get his chance to direct 'Creed III'." He revealed, "Last year in a conversation with our 'Creed' star Michael B. Jordan, I offered him the opportunity to not only star in, but also to direct 'Creed III'."
The first "Creed" movie was directed by Ryan Coogler, who previously directed Jordan in 2013's "Fruitvale Station". Steven Caple Jr. took over the role behind the lens for the sequel, which was released in 2018.
In both first two movies, Sylvester Stallone returned as Robert "Rocky" Balboa, Sr., Apollo's enemy-turned-best friend who becomes Adonis' avuncular trainer and mentor. In the second film, Adonis meets Viktor Drago, son of Ivan Drago, in the ring. Dolph Lundgren reprised his role as the Russian former prize champion boxer, who killed Apollo during an exhibition boxing match years before.
Jordan is also known for his role as Erik Killmonger in "Black Panther", which was also directed by Coogler. He will next be seen in "Without Remorse", which is based on the 1993 novel of the same name by Tom Clancy.
