Michael B. Jordan makes his directorial debut with “Creed III,” in theaters next March. And the upcoming film takes after the original “Rocky” movies as highly personal projects, with the movie’s leading man also being its director. After all, Sylvester Stallone directed four “Rocky” films: “II,” “III,” “IV,” and 2006’s “Rocky Balboa.” But Jordan’s third outing as Adonis Creed is the actor’s first time in the director’s chair. So, to help himself, he sought out other actors-turned-directors for advice.
And Jordan didn’t seek out just anybody. In an interview with Empire, Jordan told the magazine he reached out to Denzel Washington and Bradley Cooper to pick their brains. “I was pretty anxious going into it, wondering what that would be like,” Jordan told Empire. “‘Who’s calling action and cut? Is that me?!’” “Talking with Denzel and Bradley Cooper and others who have directed themselves, they told me you have to find your groove and your pace with your first AD and actors,” the actor continued. “But it’s also like having a superpower: within your performance, you can also direct. It saves some time in some areas, because you get a chance to self-correct in the moment. So that’s a liberating experience to have. It became fun after a while.”
In “Creed III,” Jordan’s Creed faces his biggest challenge yet when a childhood friend, Jonathan Majors‘ Damian, shows up fresh out of prison, ready to take what he believes is his. And Jordan relished directing Majors in such a villainous role. “I think he has an intensity and a realness of character we haven’t seen before,” Jordan said about Damian. “He’s a grounded character who’s antagonistic by nature, but it comes from an honest place, real emotions. He’s not a moustache-twirling villain; I wanted people to understand him, and to make it hard for people. I think those make for the most complicated and interesting ones to watch.”
Jordan takes over directing the “Creed” franchise after Ryan Coogler and Steven Caple Jr. directed the first two movies in the series, respectively. Tessa Thompson, Wood Harris, Florian Munteanu, Phylicia Rashad, and Tony Bellow reprise their roles from previous installments. Newcomers besides Majors include Selenis Levya, Thaddeus J. Mixson, MilaDavis-Kent, and Canelo Álvarez. Jordan directs a screenplay by Keenan Coogler and Zach Baylin.
So, how will “Creed III” measure against the two previous installments? Or, for that matter, “Rocky III,” because Jonathan Majors’ Damien looks like the ferocious second coming of that movie’s Clubber Lang. Find out when “Creed III” hits theaters everywhere on March 3, 2023.
