Michael B Jordan Confirmed To Direct Creed 3 For Thanksgiving 2022 Release

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Michael B. Jordan is officially directing Creed 3 as the sequel receives a November 2022 release date. The Rocky franchise was rebooted in 2015 with the release of Creed. It starred Michael B. Jordan as Adonis Creed - the son of the great Apollo Creed - and was directed by Ryan Coogler before he jumped to Black Panther. Despite some hesitation over a reboot/continuation of Rocky by the general public, Creed was a critical and financial success. The performance of the first film allowed MGM to continue the franchise with Creed II.

The sequel hit theaters in 2018 to positive but not raving reviews like its predecessor. Creed II was a bigger hit at the box office, though, as it made nearly $215 million worldwide on a reported $50M budget. This brought about discussions of how and when the franchise could continue. Progress on the movie started to heat up in 2020 when King Richard's Zach Baylin was brought on to write the script. Through it all, there have been constant rumors that Michael B. Jordan was contemplating directing the sequel in addition to starring.

As shared by Deadline, Michael B. Jordan has officially committed to directing Creed 3. The highly-anticipated sequel will mark Jordan's feature directorial debut. His decision comes as MGM announced an official release date for the movie as well. Creed 3 will debut in theaters on November 23, 2022. It was previously revealed that filming would begin in late 2021. Tessa Thompson will return as Adonis' wife Bianca, but Sylvester Stallone said in the past that he would not be back as Rocky Balboa.

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Jordan taking over directing duties on Creed 3 will continue some unofficial traditions of the franchise. It confirms that each of the Creed movies will be directed by different people, as Steven Caple Jr. helmed Creed II after Coogler couldn't and isn't returning for Creed 3. This also allows Jordan to continue following in Sylvester Stallone's footsteps. Although he made his directorial debut with another movie, Stallone also directed entries in the Rocky franchise. But the Creed franchise will have to go well past the third film for Jordan to match Stallone's count for entries directed.

Even though Creed 3 will be Jordan's directorial debut, he could be the latest actor to make an impressive first film after spending years learning the craft while on set. Jordan has a great working relationship with Ryan Coogler and has collaborated with other talented directors. He also knows the Creed franchise and story better than just about anyone else, but now he'll have an even greater say in how the next installment is made. With Creed 3 officially coming out next year, it won't be long before fans get to see what Jordan delivers.