Creed 2 seems inevitable, but it's not quite official. The boxing sequel is expected to return Michael B. Jordan as the son of Apollo Creed, and if Sylvester Stallone gets his way, Creed 2 will pull parts of its storyline from a seminal Rocky sequel -- 1985's jingoistic U.S. v Russia: Dawn of Steroids epic, Rocky IV.
Sylvester Stallone has been busy sharing images on his Instagram account reliving memories from Rocky IV -- where the Italian Stallion fought the towering Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren) while America jeered the Russians. And in the comments, he hints at the direction of Creed 2, saying it might be time for an American warrior to take on a Russian adversary. But the above shot is the most blatant tease, with Michael B. Jordan's Adonis Creed actually staring down Drago in a Photoshopped shot.
Now, we don't expect Michael B. Jordan to box Ivan Drago. Dolph Lundgren is 59, and while he's still in ridiculously good shape, it'd be unbelievable to see him going toe-to-toe with an old Ivan. But Stallone writes "Sins of the Father" in the status of that Instagram photo, and since Drago killed Apollo in the ring, you can see why the young boxer with a chip on his shoulder might be looking for vengeance.
Here are some of the other pics Sylvester Stallone has shared with Creed 2 on his mind:
This one, especially, shows that Stallone wants Creed 2 to go down this particular route, for in there, he states, "Directing APOLLO AND DRAGO , The two best 'cinema' boxers that ever lived!... Maybe it's time to try to again?"
The thing is, Creed 2 isn't on the books yet. And EW reached out to Sly's reps, who declined to elaborate further. IMDB has it down for a 2018 release, with no specifics after that. The original Creed movie earned $173 million at the domestic box office, and a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for Sylvester Stallone, as he brought back his aging pugilist and shoehorned him into the mentor role. Could Stallone direct Creed 2? Would the studio want to wait for Ryan Coogler, who's busy with post-production on Marvel's Black Panther?
We'll continue to monitor the status of a possible Creed 2. If it does decide to thaw the Cold War, it will be interesting to see how it juggles modern politics, and the influence that Russian has over our current events. There are interesting places that Creed 2 can go. Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for more information as it breaks (or reaches Stallone's social channels).
