It looks like Michael B. Jordan may be following in the helming footsteps of his predecessor, Sylvester Stallone, for Creed 3. Stallone not only starred as the titular character of his 1976 film Rocky but ended up directing its sequels, Rocky II, Rocky III, and Rocky IV.
According to Deadline, Jordan, who portrays Adonis Creed (the son of Apollo Creed from the Rocky franchise), is considering taking over the director’s role for the third installment of the popular Rocky spinoff series, Creed. The report was part of a larger piece assessing media company Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s (MGM) theatrical distribution plans (and possible streaming deals, if any) in the age of the global pandemic.
Ryan Coogler (who may be too busy with Black Panther 2 at the moment) directed the first film of the Creed franchise, while Steven Caple Jr. directed Creed 2. If Jordan lands the helmer role for Creed 3, it will be his feature directorial debut. The 33-year-old actor executive produced Creed 2, so similar to Stallone’s very heavy commitment to Rocky, Jordan is invested in and passionate about the character of Adonis as well as the entire Creed franchise.
IndieWire, who noted that MGM declined their request for comment, reports:
Back in February it was reported by THR that Zach Baylin, the scribe behind the upcoming Will Smith vehicle “King Richard,” is penning the script for “Creed III.” The movie will continue the saga of Adonis Creed, played by Jordan. The original movie grossed $173 million at the worldwide box office.
As for Jordan’s other ventures, he’ll be starring in the in-development film Methuselah, described as “an action/adventure story centered on a 1,000-year-old man who has used his time on the planet to develop an unparalleled set of survival skills” and the upcoming Marvel animated series What If…, which is an anthology that explores a world where circumstances occurred differently (according to Jordan’s IMDb page, he’ll be voicing his Erik Killmonger character from Black Panther, so I’m guessing the series may explore if Killmonger hadn’t died or if he’d grown up in Wakanda, as intended).
The Root has reached out to Jordan’s team for comment on this latest news.