Michael B. Jordan Confirmed to Be Directing Creed III

The parallels between the Creed films and the original Rocky movies are getting even greater. The first film in both series was a critically acclaimed Oscar nominee that catapulted the film’s star into the limelight, the second film in both series was a more overblown sports movie about hubris still of some quality, and now, for the third film, the director will be the film’s star. Michael B. Jordan, who plays Adonis Creed, will direct Creed III just as Sylvester Stallone took over directing the Rocky franchise, albeit with the second film.

Michael B. Jordan shared the following statement about the Creed III director announcement:

Directing has always been an aspiration, but the timing had to be right. Creed III is that moment — a time in my life where I’ve grown more sure of who I am, holding agency in my own story, maturing personally, growing professionally, and learning from the Greats like Ryan Coogler, most recently Denzel Washington, and other top tier directors I respect. All of which sets the table for this moment. This franchise and in particular the themes of Creed III are deeply personal to me. I look forward to sharing the next chapter of Adonis Creed’s story with the awesome responsibility of being its director and namesake.

This will be the first time that Jordan gets behind the camera, and his involvement with directing the film had already been rumored. Coogler, who went on to direct the groundbreaking Black Panther, directed the first film, and Steven Caple Jr. came in to direct the second. Coogler is still involved with the movie as he’s helping develop the story, with a screenplay written by Keenan Coogler and Zach Baylin. It isn’t clear what the themes of Creed III will be as there isn’t much information out there about the plot of the movie, but if it follows the trend of paralleling the original series, some fool may be pitied by the end of it.

Alongside Jordan, Tessa Thompson and Phylicia Rashad are set to return with Stallone saying last year he won’t be appearing in the film.