Michael B. Jordan Talks Directing ‘Creed 3’, Admits Fans Try To Fight Him on the Street
Michael B. Jordan has grown into a Hollywood superstar thanks to a string of successful films such as Black Panther and Fruitvale Station, but he’s arguably best-known for his role as Adonis Creed in the Creed franchise. Having played the role since 2015, he’s evolved as both an actor and now a filmmaker.
Jordan makes his directorial debut in Creed 3, which is slated to be released in late 2022. Although details about the movie are scarce, it has been confirmed that Sylvester Stallone will not be starring in the film.
Because Jordan has been involved with the Creed franchise for so many years, many people fail to realize that he’s not a fighter in real life. Some fans even try to antagonize him when they see him, hoping to see how good his fighting skills really are. However, the talented actor and director doesn’t think he’s one to be messed with.
Michael B. Jordan is directing ‘Creed 3’
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Jordan discussed Creed 3 while promoting Without Remorse, a film that was released on Amazon Prime Video on April 30.
“Creed 3, for me, is—it’s become more personal as I developed it,” Jordan told BBC Radio 1. “I think it’s a story about settling debts. And it’s starting to feel like a sequel and an origin story, all in one. And that’s all I’ll say about that.”
Because Jordan directed Creed 3, he was able to explore many themes that were important to him.
“I want to explore a lot of different themes in this movie, that’s personal to me, but I think, very universal to a lot of people.
Sylvester Stallone won’t be in ‘Creed 3’
Fans of both the Rocky and Creed franchises were shocked to find out that Sylvester Stallone, the star of the original Rocky franchise, would not be starring in Creed 3. Jordan explained why Stallone is absent from the film in a separate interview with Yahoo! Entertainment.
“I feel like this is the Creed franchise,” Jordan said. “We really want fans to be interested in Adonis and what that story has to say.”
Speaking on Stallone specifically, Jordan noted that although he’s not in the movie, Stallone’s energy can still be felt in the film.
“I think that Sly let it be known that he wasn’t coming back for this one but I think, you know, his essence and his spirit… there’s always going to be a little bit of Rocky within Adonis,” Jordan told IGN. “But this is a Creed franchise, and we really want to build this story and this world around him moving forward. So, it’s always respect and always a shit-ton of love for what he’s built, but we really want to push and navigate Adonis forward and the family that he created. So, hopefully you guys will love what I’m thinking… what we’re cooking up. I think it’s going to be something special.”
He says fans occasionally try to fight him when they see him on the street
Because Jordan has played a professional boxer for five years now, it’s easy to understand why fans might lose sight of the fact that he’s not a real fighter. He revealed later in his interview with BBC Radio 1 that random people occasionally approach him on the street looking for a fight.
“Yeah, I think it’s a natural thing,” Jordan said. “Like Sly used to say all the time—you know with the Rocky’s he’ll have people randomly coming up to him, trying to antagonize and instigate certain situations because they see us on a movie or whatnot. But it’s…”
Although he didn’t go into specifics, Jordan claimed that it’s best not to mess with him due to his extensive training.
“I mean, you think about it … somebody does something for five years, six years, they gotta know something about something, and I’ll just leave it at that,” Jordan said, smiling.
