For the first time in the Rocky film series, the legendary Rocky Balboa will not be featured in the ninth installment of the Rocky movie franchise, Creed III.
In an interview with Independent UK in November 2022, Sylvester Stallone, who portrayed Adonis Creed’s mentor Rocky Balboa in the first two Creed film series, clarified the reason for his absence from the third Creed movie.
He said he chose not to reprise his role given his creative differences with Michael B. Jordan.
Sylvester Stallone chose not to reprise his role as Rocky Balboa in Creed 3 due to creative differences with Michael B. Jordan (Credit: New Line Cinema / Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer / Warner Bros. Pictures)
“What it was is Michael [B. Jordan] is telling a story, highly personal, but there’s no room for me. In other words, it’s about his [character Adonis Creed’s] family, about his dilemma, and about his journey that has nothing to do with boxing.”
“I don’t want to give anything away, but it’s a whole different point of view than Rocky’s point of view.”
Stallone went on to say: “And I kept looking for, ‘Where do I insert myself, here?’ I’d basically be walking around with a bucket, ‘Ready to spit, ready to spit?’”
“And I just said there’s was nothing really there for me. Now, if there’s a four that comes out and there’s this camaraderie, say father and son-ness, which I thought that’s what it should be throughout. Like I become the Mickey character [played by Burgess Meredith in the first three Rocky movies], which I had become, then yeah.”
Sylvester Stallone and Irwin Winkler’s Feud
Aside from not agreeing with the direction Creed 3 was taking, Stallone mentioned in an interview with Sirius XM that he’s refusing to watch any new Creed sequel involving producer Irwin Winkler.
“You can’t make peace with someone who’s been so, so nefarious, in my opinion,” he said.
The legendary actor wrote the 90-page screenplay for Rocky, but he doesn’t have any ownership rights to the film after selling it to Winkler in 1976 for $350,000 out of financial desperation.
Sylvester Stallone doesn’t have any ownership rights to Rocky after selling it to Winkler for $350,000 out of financial desperation in 1976 (Credit: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer / Chartoff-Winkler Productions / United Artists )
In July last year, Stallone asked Winkler to give him “what’s left of [his] rights back” in a now-deleted Instagram post.
“After IRWIN controlling ROCKY for over 47 years, and now CREED, I really would like have at least a little WHAT’s LEFT of my RIGHTS back, before passing it on to ONLY YOUR CHILDREN – I believe That would be a FAIR gesture from this 93 year old gentleman,” he captioned his post.
He also said Irwin and his family “suck Rocky dry” following the announcement of another Rocky spinoff movie about Ivan Drago.
Sylvester Stallone wants Irwin Winkler to give him what’s left of his Rocky rights back (Credit: New Line Cinema / Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer / Warner Bros. Pictures)
In addition, Stallone told Sirius XM that his decision to not support future Creed movies with Irwin involved is not purely about money.
“I don’t care about the money, I wanted to leave it to my children. I wrote it. I thought it would be nice to say, ‘Here’s the gesture darling, here. Beautiful children, beautiful wife. When I’m long gone, this is you. That is what I made for you.’”
“That’s all, and it’s never gonna happen. So, I can’t forgive them.”
He told Variety he didn’t insist on the ownership rights issue before because “there was a certain code of business conduct, maybe not as much now, but back then, that you don’t ruffle the feathers of the golden goose. The studio is the power, the agency relies upon them, and the attorneys are the go-betweens.”
“When I finally confronted them [just before Rocky VI in 1985], I said, ‘Does it bother you guys that I’ve written every word, I’ve choreographed it, I’ve been loyal to you, I’ve promoted it, directed it and I don’t have 1% that I could leave for my children?’ And the quote was, ‘You got paid.’ And that was the end of the conversation.”
Sylvester Stallone said he will not support any future Creed releases involving Irwin Winkler (Credit: New Line Cinema / Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer / Warner Bros. Pictures)
He also told The Hollywood Reporter that it’s “a regretful situation” if he sees Creed III without him in it “because I know what it could have been. It was taken in a direction that is quite different than I would’ve taken it.”
“It’s a different philosophy – Irwin Winkler’s and Michael B. Jordan’s. I wish them well, but I’m much more of a sentimentalist. I like my heroes getting beat up, but I just don’t want them going into that dark space. I just feel people have enough darkness.”
What Is Creed III About?
Creed III is set seven years after the events of Creed II.
As per the trailer, Adonis “Donnie” Creed (Michael B. Jordan) has retired and is now focusing on becoming a better father to his daughter, Amara, with his wife, Bianca Taylor (Tessa Thompson).
Creed III focuses on the now retired Adonis Creed as he enjoys life with his wife Bianca and daughter Amara (Credit: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer / United Artists Releasing / Warner Bros. Pictures)
He later reunites with a childhood friend and former boxing prodigy Damian “Dame” Anderson (Jonathan Majors), who has returned from prison after serving a long sentence.
However, their friendship gets strained as Damian is eager to show that he deserves to fight in the ring and take Adonis’ throne. With his future on the line, Adonis is forced out of retirement to settle the score with Damian inside the ring.
Adonis Creed is later forced out of retirement to settle the score with his childhood friend Damian, who wants to take his throne (Credit: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer / United Artists Releasing / Warner Bros. Pictures)
Who Directed Creed III?
Aside from reprising his role as Adonis Creed, Michael B. Jordan is also making his directorial debut in the latest installment in the Rocky film franchise.
Ryan Coogler, the original Creed director, is still listed as an executive producer and is given credit for the story, while his brother Keenan Coogler co-wrote the screenplay with Zach Baylin.
Are Creed III Stars Michael B Jordan and Tessa Thompson Dating?
Michael B. Jordan and Tessa Thompson have been linked together since co-starring in the boxing film series Creed.
They share undeniable on-screen chemistry as Adonis Creed and Bianca Taylor in the first two Creed installments, and they’re set to prove that their spark is still burning as they return to the ring for Creed III.
At the premiere of the third Creed movie on Wednesday, the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever star and the Thor: Love and Thunder actress couldn’t seem to keep their hands off each other. They were pictured hugging, posing arm-in-arm, and touching faces, showing just how close they are.
Michael B. Jordan and Tessa Thompson can’t seem to keep their hands off each other at the London premiere of Creed III held at Cineworld Leicester Square on February 15, 2023 (Credit: Cover Images)
Michael, Lori Harvey’s ex, cut a fine figure in a black Prada suit adorned with Tiffany & Co. Schlumberger “Bird on a Rock” brooches.
He further accessorized his sharp look with Tiffany & Co. diamond stud earrings, a bangle, a watch with a black leather strap, and a pair of black leather dress shoes.
Meanwhile, Tessa made a dramatic statement in a flashy silver gown that worked well on the red carpet.
On-screen couple Michael B. Jordan and Tessa Thompson pose arm-in-arm, with Michael in a Prada black suit and Tessa in a reflective Robert Wun gown (Credit: Cover Images)
Hailing from Robert Wun’s Spring/Summer 2023 Couture Collection, the voluminous reflective gown was made with 28 meters of UV-foiled silk taffeta. It had a sweetheart neckline, side pockets, black lining, and a long train trailed behind her.
Thompson commissioned styling duo Wayman Bannerman and Micah McDonald to create her modern look, which was teamed with diamond hoop earrings, stud earrings, and a variety of silver rings by Garrard and Mizuki.
Tessa Thompson’s voluminous Robert Wun Spring 2023 gown is made with 28 meters of UV foiled silk taffeta and features a sweetheart neckline and a long train (Credit: Nils Jorgensen / INSTARimages / Cover Images)
Wayman and Micah, whose high-profile clients also include Jodie Turner-Smith and Tiffany Haddish, completed the actress’ look with Roger Vivier flower strass buckle platform sandals in glittered fabric, which were unfortunately hard to spot from under her voluminous gown.
Allowing her outfit to take center stage, Tessa’s hairstylist Lacy Redway pulled her tresses up into a high bun with two sleek strands left loose to frame her face.
Makeup artist Alex Babsky gave her a dramatic, sultry look with black smokey eyeshadow, winged eyeliner, and matte lipstick.
Tessa Thompson styles her tresses in a bun with face-framing fringe and wears black smokey eyeshadow with matte pink lip color (Credit: Abaca Press / INSTARimages)
While Tessa Thompson and Michael B. Jordan looked really close, there’s no news about them officially dating.
In 2018, during Creed II promotions, Tessa told Jimmy Kimmel on his show that he caught Michael gazing at her behind during their recorded initial chemistry test with the movie producers.
“Apparently there’s a part of the footage where he’s caught looking at my butt.”
She added that the said video made the already uncomfortable meeting “even more awkward.”
Michael B. Jordan and Tessa Thompson appear to be packing on some PDA on the red carpet (Credit: Nils Jorgensen / INSTARimages / Cover Images)
On Working with Michael B. Jordan
Michael and Tessa appeared in the 2015 Creed, which serves as a spin-off and is the seventh installment in the Rocky film series. They reprised their roles in the 2018 sequel, as well as in the latest 2023 Creed movie.
Tessa Thompson spoke with The Hollywood Reporter about her experience working on Creed III with Michael B. Jordan as the director and how the dynamic between them didn’t change.
“I thought that it would, but it didn’t. It was so interesting because I wondered what it would be like for Mike to have to be a scene partner and a director. But when we were doing the scene work, he felt entirely in it. We got back into those character dynamics very easily. The only thing that was different was the time. We’d do the scene, and then he would have to go to the monitor sometimes to watch. So that felt a little different. But dynamically, we were just in the pocket of what we’ve been doing.”
Tessa Thompson said that the dynamic between her and Michael B. Jordan has not changed despite Jordan being the film’s director (Credit: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer / United Artists Releasing / Warner Bros. Pictures)
She also discussed how Michael welcomed her feedback and allowed her to improvise as they worked on the story and develop her character, Bianca.
“In the past, it’s been a lot of work to make sure that she has agency and an arc in the context of these sports films, essentially. I wanted to make sure that she’s not just moving the plot forward, and that she actually has something interesting to do. And I typically do that work with the writers, which has been a great process thus far, but this time around, I could do that work more actively with Mike.”
“I also had a lot more freedom to improvise on the day than the past ones. He gave me a lot of license to do that, so that felt different. But it didn’t change the dynamic between these characters.”