Plot Synopsis For Creed Hints At A New Adversary For Rocky

Fruitvale Station director Ryan Coogler is rebooting the Rocky franchise with this year’s Creed. Starring his Fruitvale lead Michael Jordan, Coogler’s film will pay homage to the original series while striking out on its own. This time around, Sylvester Stallone’s boxer appears in a supporting role with Jordan nabbing the spotlight as Apollo Creed’s son, Adonis.

In terms of story, we know that Adonis will seek out his father’s greatest opponent, Rocky, to help train him in the sport that runs through his veins. Aside from a few casting announcements, that’s been it so far. Now, thanks to a lengthy synopsis unearthed by Badass Digest (via /Film), it seems that Balboa himself could be in for another battle of his own:

Adonis Johnson (Jordan) never knew his famous father, world heavyweight champion Apollo Creed, who died before he was born. Still, there’s no denying that boxing is in his blood, so Adonis heads to Philadelphia, the site of Apollo Creed’s legendary match with a tough upstart named Rocky Balboa.

Once in the City of Brotherly Love, Adonis tracks Rocky (Stallone) down and asks him to be his trainer. Despite his insistence that he is out of the fight game for good, Rocky sees in Adonis the strength and determination he had known in Apollo—the fierce rival who became his closest friend. Agreeing to take him on, Rocky trains the young fighter, even as the former champ is battling an opponent more deadly than any he faced in the ring.

With Rocky in his corner, it isn’t long before Adonis gets his own shot at the title…but can he develop not only the drive but also the heart of a true fighter, in time to get into the ring?

By the sounds of things, Rocky won’t be donning the gloves for a punch-up, but will instead battle a fatal illness. It’s all speculation at this point, but by the words chosen in the above outline, we might be in store for our last big screen appearance of cinema’s beloved boxer. What do you think, has Balboa had his final round in the ring?

Creed will arrive in theaters on November 25.