In 2006, many believed that Rocky Balboa (or Rocky 6, for those keeping track) sounded the death knell for the long-in-the-tooth boxing series. Low and behold, almost a decade has passed and now Sylvester Stallone is primed to return for a role he made famous – albeit in a different capacity. Rather than going all 12 rounds himself, Stallone’s Rocky Balboa will pick up the coach mantle for Creed, which stars Michael B. Jordan as the hot up-and-comer.
Partnering once again with Ryan Coogler following their collaboration on Fruitvale Station, Jordan is playing the role of Adonis Johnson, disillusioned son to the late, great heavyweight champ Apollo Creed – hence the title. When the pair cross paths, Stallone’s Italian Stallion begrudgingly agrees to train Adonis, recognizing an all-too-familiar glint of determination in the eye of the would-be world beater. Jordan’s brawler lacks discipline, though, and as today’s brand new trailer attests, the young fighter is the equivalent of a rough diamond by the time he tracks down Stallone’s weathered champion.
Tessa Thompson, Phylicia Rashad and real life pro Anthony Bellew are all primed to star in Coogler’s latest drama, and though Southpaw failed to make a lasting impression earlier in the year, all the ingredients are in place for the director’s Creed to pack a true emotional punch. But can it land that killer blow at the box office?
Sylvester Stallone will reprise his iconic role as the Italian Stallion, teaching Michael B. Jordan the tricks of the trade in the process, when Creed hits theaters on November 25. UK audiences, meanwhile, will have to hold out until early 2016.
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.
