Could there be a ‘Creed 4?’

Warning: The following article contains spoilers for Creed III.

If you can believe it, the arrival of Creed III has marked the ninth entry in the Rocky franchise. The third Creed movie was directed by Michael B. Jordan who returns as the titular fighter, Adonis “Donnie” Creed. Tessa Thompson, Wood Harris, Florian Munteanu, and Phylicia Rashad return as Bianca, Tony “Little Duke” Evers, Viktor Drago, and Mary Anne Creed respectively. 

Joining the cast is Mila Davis-Kent, who plays Donnie and Bianca’s daughter Amara while Jonathan Majors plays Damian “Dame” Anderson, Donnie’s childhood friend. After Dame is released from prison he re-enters his friend’s life, with an eye on the life Creed made for himself. At the beginning of Creed III, Donnie participates in what he thinks will be his final fight. 

So, you might be wondering if Jordan has hung up his gloves for good and if Creed III will be the last entry in the franchise. Let’s take a look at Creed III and what Michael B. Jordan has said about a possible next installment, and tell you all we know about a possible Creed IV. 

Does Creed III leave the door open for Creed IV?

By the end of the movie when he beats Dame, it is clear that Donnie doesn’t want to be fighting anymore. He has spent nearly the entire film outside of the ring, managing and promoting a fight instead of boxing himself. It does seem unlikely that there will be another movie with Adonis Creed fighting professionally, although he could always come back for a charity bout as Rocky did in Rocky Balboa. 

But, that does not rule out Creed IV. Michael B. Jordan has been fairly coy when it comes to the future of the franchise, only saying: “I just want to expand the Creed-verse within reason, but definitely expect other things around Creed for sure.” So while this does not confirm a fourth entry, it seems to hint that there might be another spinoff of some kind. Or at least a continuation of the Creed story.

With Rocky not appearing in the new film, it does look like Jordan is trying to expand his version of the universe rather than relying on legacy characters. But if Creed IV does get greenlit, what could it focus on? Well, there are a few different choices. The film could focus on Adonis training a new fighter, maybe even one who goes up against another fighter who is being trained by Dame. Although, this might be too close to Creed II, or the much-maligned —rightfully so— Rocky V.

The other avenue the film could take, although this as a spinoff or sequel might seem a little farfetched, is that Dame could redeem himself by winning the title again, but this time by fighting clean. Jordan has stated that anime was a major influence on Creed III, and there is nothing that screams anime more than a villain redeeming himself by training with the hero. Adonis could be training a boxer who gets injured in a fight against another fighter, and he could train Dame to beat him. 

Another version of a sequel could follow Amara, Donnie’s daughter. She does show an interest in fighting in Creed III, even though she is quite young. We could get a sequel in a decade where Donnie or Dame trains Amara. In fact, Donnie could be against his daughter fighting, and maybe that’s where Dame could come in. Either way, the film definitely sets up a future for Amara, more than any of the Rocky films did with Rocky Jr. This is fitting because the Creed franchise is focused on family more than the Rocky franchise was. 

That’s what’s special about Creed III. While it ends in a way that could have ended the franchise altogether, it leaves multiple loose threads that could easily be explored in a new entry, or even a new trilogy. In a way, it also feels self-contained or at least separated from the first two films. The time jump between the movies is undoubtedly the main cause of this. 

Ultimately, we won’t know more about the future of the franchise until a project is greenlit. But, if Creed III does well commercially and critically we will probably see a continuation sooner rather than later. With the film currently Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes with a 96 percent audience score, the odds are definitely looking good.

You can watch Creed III in theaters now.