We're only a week away from Creed II hitting theaters, which means some of you reading, if you haven't already, will re-watch 2015's Creed to refresh your memory on what happened there. Michael B. Jordan doesn't have to do that; he lived through it. But along with having fond memories of shooting Creed, Jordan also has access to behind-the-scenes videos of the creative process, like the one below showing him getting some boxing practice in with Rocky himself, Sylvester Stallone.
Just because Rocky Balboa has been retired from boxing since the events of Rocky V (excluding his brief return in Rocky Balboa) doesn't mean that he still can't practice a little while coaching Adonis Creed. There's a lot of different ways to prepare for boxing matches, and going a few rounds on the speed bag is one of them. Adonis does this several times during Creed, but there's a particularly cool moment during one of the training montages where we see Adonis and Rocky both pummeling their speed bags at once. This is them practicing that scene, and you can watch the final version below.
As Michael B. Jordan notes in his Instagram post, he came across this video while going through his phone's archives, and having watched the Rocky movies growing up and mimicked the boxing matches, getting to hit the speed bag with Sylvester Stallone was "surreal." Even better, he got to do it a second time with Creed II. Jordan's acted in various cool projects, but getting to work alongside Stallone in the Creed movies helps him feel the same way he did when he watched Rocky in action as a kid.
Having already followed in his late father's footsteps and gotten a little boxing experience on his own, Adonis Creed (previously Johnson) headed to Philadelphia early into the first Creed movie to seek Rocky Balboa's help in going pro after quitting his job and failing to get into the Delphi Boxing Academy. With Rocky's help, and due to his true parentage being leaked to the press, Adonis ended up facing off against "Pretty" Ricky Conlan. Just like how Rocky lost his first bout with Apollo Creed four decades earlier, Adonis lost against Conlan, but it didn't matter, because he had a bright future in boxing ahead of him.
Creed II picks up with Adonis several years later, where he'll face off against Viktor Drago, son of Ivan Drago, the man who famously killed Apollo Creed in Rocky IV. Adonis hopes he can use this match to finally avenge his father, whereas Ivan hopes to use his son to reclaim the glory he lost when Rocky beat him. Since Rocky appears to be doing better than he was in the latter half of Creed, fingers crossed we get to see him briefly partake in some training with Adonis again.
Creed II opens in theaters on November 21, so keep checking back with CinemaBlend for more coverage about the sequel. As far as what else there is to look forward to before the year is over, check out our holiday premiere guide.
