Creed III

Creed III, released in 2023, is an American sports drama that marks Michael B. Jordan’s directorial debut; he also stars in the lead role and served as a producer alongside a team including Irwin Winkler, Charles Winkler, William Chartoff, David Winkler, Ryan Coogler, Elizabeth Raposo, Jonathan Glickman, and Sylvester Stallone. As the sequel to Creed II (2018), it is the third film in the Creed series and the ninth installment overall in the Rocky franchise.

The screenplay was written by Keenan Coogler and Zach Baylin, based on a story they developed with Ryan Coogler. The plot centers on Adonis Creed (Jordan), now retired and successful, who reconnects with his childhood friend and former boxing prodigy Damian Anderson (Jonathan Majors). The cast also includes Tessa Thompson, Wood Harris, Mila Davis-Kent, Florian Munteanu, and Phylicia Rashad. Plans for a third Creed film were announced in September 2019, with Jordan’s return confirmed; in October 2020, it was revealed he would also direct, making this the fifth film in the series directed by its lead actor—following Rocky II, Rocky III, Rocky IV, and Rocky Balboa, all directed by Sylvester Stallone, who played the title role in the first six films before reprising it in Creed and Creed II.

Majors and the rest of the cast joined between November 2021 and September 2022. Creed III is the first film in the series without Stallone appearing as Rocky Balboa, though he remained a producer. Principal photography ran from January to April 2022, with filming in Los Angeles, Tampa, and Georgia. The film premiered in Mexico City on February 9, 2023—coinciding with Jordan’s 36th birthday—and was released in the United States on March 3.

It is the first Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film distributed solely by the studio without the United Artists Releasing logo since Fighting with My Family (2019). Critics gave positive reviews, praising Jordan’s direction, the story, performances, and fight sequences. Like its predecessors, it performed well at the box office, earning $276.1 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing Creed film and the second highest-grossing Rocky film. A sequel is in development.

In 2002, Adonis “Donnie” Creed sneaks out with his best friend, Golden Gloves champion “Diamond” Dame Anderson, to watch Dame compete in an underground boxing match in Los Angeles.