Michael B. Jordan, who has portrayed Adonis Creed in both Creed films, will reportedly direct Creed 3. The series serves as both a spin-off and continuation of the widely popular and iconic Rocky franchise, following the life of the titular Creed, who was the illegitimate son of Rocky Balboa's enemy-turned-friend Apollo Creed. Sylvester Stallone, who created and portrayed Rocky in all of the character's appearances, was originally set on ending the franchise after the 2006 film Rocky Balboa. However, Ryan Coogler, fresh off his success with the indie darling Fruitvale Station (which also starred Jordan), pitched Stallone the idea for Creed. Coogler's pitch was enough to convince Stallone to revisit the Italian Stallion, and both Creed and it's sequel Creed II were critical and financial successes.

The success of Creed was enough to launch Coogler (who wrote and directed the film) into the filmmaking A list, landing him the directing gig for Black Panther. Because of that, Coogler was unavailable to direct Creed II and only served as an executive producer on the film. Writing duties fell onto Stallone himself and Juel Taylor, while indie filmmaker Steven Caple Jr. was tagged to direct. While a potential Creed 3 has seemed inevitable, it was up in the air about who would take the reigns creatively. Back in February, it was revealed that Zach Baylin would be penning the script, but no details about the film's plot or its potential director were released.

Now, Deadline is reporting that Jordan will in fact direct Creed 3. This film would mark the actor's directorial debut, and Jordan will obviously reprise his role as Adonis Creed. This comes after a year of hints and rumors that Jordan would sit in the director's chair for the third film in the franchise; however, Warner Bros. has yet to officially announce Jordan as the director.


The franchise has a lot of interesting places it can go with Creed 3. Both Rocky and Adonis' stories were wrapped up pretty perfectly in Creed II, with Adonis coming to terms with the legacy of his late father and it's implications on his life, and Rocky reuniting with his estranged son. Stallone has also implied that he intends to hang up Balboa's gloves after Creed II, but he has made that same claim several times in the past. It's uncertain if other legacy Rocky characters will make an appearance in Creed 3, or even if the film will be tied so closely to Rocky like the first two films were.

This film would be Jordan's first directing gig, but the actor has spent his entire life working with some of the greatest filmmakers of modern times. He has, unquestionably, picked up something from the years he spent watching the greats and could be the fresh voice needed to push Creed into exciting new territory. Creed brought the Rocky story into modern times, and Creed II managed to create a beautifully compelling story out of one of Rocky's most single note enemies, but it might be time for the series to step out of the Italian Stallion's shadow. If Stallone is truly finished as Rocky, then perhaps the unique perspective of a first-time director is what Creed 3 needs.