Creed came out of nowhere in 2015, wowing audiences with an emotional and insightful story that hearkened back to the first Rocky. And not only was the film a hit with fans, but critics as well. Sylvester Stallone, who returned as an older and world-weary version of, arguably, his most iconic character, even nabbed an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
Given the overwhelming success, a sequel was quickly put into production. Steven Caple Jr. took over the directing duties from Ryan Coogler, who was busy with Black Panther, and the second iteration saw Adonis Creed face the son of Ivan Drago, the man who killed his father. While the film didn’t hit the critical heights of its predecessor, it was still a solid addition that further elevated and reinvigorated the aging series.
All that said, there hasn’t been much information put out about the future of the Creed franchise since the second outing. But that isn’t really all that unexpected, given that the movie’s stars, Michael B. Jordan and Tessa Thompson, are among the most sought after talents working in Hollywood today.
Even Sylvester Stallone moved on from the franchise he originally created, stating that he felt he was done with the role of Rocky Balboa. Though he has a history of being somewhat fickle when it comes to retiring the Italian Stallion.
One person who sees more opportunity for the series, though, is Thompson herself. During an appearance at ACE Comic-Con alongside Brie Larson, the erstwhile actress was asked if she thought a third film was going to happen any time soon, to which she responded:
I feel so lucky that doing the Creed movies, I get to write that music and perform that music. And I think we’re going to make a Creed 3 eventually, so I’ll make more music then and maybe we’ll [indicating Larson] do a duet.
It’s clear there’s still a lot of love for the characters. And if nothing else, this comment shows that there’s plenty of interest from those involved. Whether or not a third movie is in the pipeline is anyone’s guess at this point, but here’s hoping that we see Creed step into the ring again sooner rather than later.