CALIFORNIA, USA — In Warner Bros. Pictures’ action-packed boxing movie Creed III, Adonis Creed is brought to life for the third time by star Michael B. Jordan, who stepped behind the camera to direct and produce the film.
He stated, “I had a clear vision of what I wanted the story to be, where I wanted the Creed family to go. The challenge of directing helped motivate me. I wanted to see if I had what it takes to act in and direct something that had been kicking around in my head for a long time. Creed III is very personal to me and, thankfully, all those things added up to the perfect situation for this movie.”
In the film, after dominating the boxing world, Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan) has been thriving in both his career and family life. When a childhood friend and former boxing prodigy, Damian (Jonathan Majors), resurfaces after serving a long sentence in prison, he is eager to prove that he deserves his shot in the ring. The face-off between former friends is more than just a fight. To settle the score, Adonis must put his future on the line to battle Damian, a fighter who has nothing to lose.
“This is an origin story, a sequel, and a trilogy all in one,” said Michael. “We’ve seen Adonis at a young age in the earlier films, but we never had the chance to really see how he was in and out of juvie, what really shaped him to be the Adonis Creed that we know before he was adopted, and brought into a life of wealth, opportunity and legacy. I felt it would result in a kind of identity crisis for him.”
Michael feels a kinship with the character of Adonis. BeforeMichael ascended to global superstar with his performance in Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther, it was the director’s 2015 Creed that introduced Michael to the power of not just admiring, but being part of, a cinematic legacy.
“I grew up along with Adonis Creed,” said Michael. “I created him with Ryan and got a chance to play him at pivotal times during my own personal life. So now, in the third film in the series, to be able to tell the story of where I am now, and where Adonis is on his journey, feels extremely personal.
“I was excited to see Adonis through to wherever he needed to go next,” Michael added. “How does he stay hungry? How does he find motivation now? The answer was, through a reminder about who he was before fame, and before he got everything that he dreamed of. As an actor and a director, that’s what I was most interested in exploring.”
Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures Presents A Chartoff-Winkler Production, Creed III is distributed internationally by Warner Bros. Pictures including the Philippines. Join the conversation online and use the hashtag #Creed3
