The next entry in the Creed film franchise, after being delayed like everything else, will take its biggest step away from the Rocky franchise from which it was created by being the first movie to not include Rocky. Sylvester Stallone will not appear in Creed III, but Stallone knows what is going to be in that movie, and it sounds like the lack of Rocky might be only the beginning of this film’s attempt to blaze its own trail.
Speaking with Metro in the UK, Sylvester Stallone seems to imply that Creed III won’t be just another entry in the franchise of boxing movies. Instead, the script for the new film is “really interesting. Stallone says…
It takes it in a different direction. I wish them well and keep punching!
Certainly we don’t expect Creed III to not be a movie about boxing. We know that Jonathan Majors has been cast as the movie’s antagonist. One assumes the conflict will be settled in a boxing ring. We certainly aren’t looking forward to seeing the final fight go the Rocky V route and take place in an alley.
Having said that, it makes some sense for Creed to take steps to separate itself from the Rocky franchise and try to be something more than just a spinoff. Adonis Creed isn’t Rocky Balboa. His history and motivations are quite different, so we should excerpt that his stories don’t follow the same path.
And one would expect Creed III to be something different by virtue of the fact that it marks Michael B. Jordan’s debut as a director. He’s certainly going to do things differently than those that came before. But Stallone’s statements imply that the script itself is something different than we’ve seen before.
For those that love the Rocky franchise, and that loved Creed because of the way it really was just a continuation of that story, this maybe isn’t the best news. The possibility that things will change enough that longtime fans could be turned off is certainly a possibility. At the same time, the franchise could maybe use a review and a fresh look at things and something different from what we’ve seen isn’t a bad thing by itself.
While its unclear if Rocky is gone forever from the franchise, Stallone’s comments have made it sound like he’s ready to say goodbye to the character he has played for nearly his entire career. With Rocky gone, now is the time to take Creed in a fresh direction. We’ll find out just what that direction looks like when Creed III arrives early next year.