Michael B Jordan Reveals Why Sylvester Stallone Isn’t Returning For ‘Creed III

Michael B Jordan Reveals Why Sylvester Stallone Is Not Returning For ‘Creed III,’ Which He’s Directing

Michael B Jordan will be making his directorial debut with Creed lll. As fans welcome this change for the third instalment of this film’s franchise; they will also notice the absence of Sylvester Stallone.

Michael B Jordan addresses the shocking news.

“I think that Sly let it be known that he wasn’t coming back for this one but I think; you know, his essence and his spirit … there’s always going to be a little bit of Rocky within Adonis,” Jordan told IGN this week.

Since “Creed,” directed by Ryan Coogler (“Black Panther”), came out in 2015, the “Rocky” spin-off franchise that focuses on Apollo Creed’s son, Adonis (played by Jordan), has found huge acclaim. Stallone even earned an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of Rocky Balboa as Creed’s manager.

It seems that with Stallone’s exit, the “Creed” franchise will connect to the “Rocky” movies differently.

For fans of the Balboa universe, it will be hard to see Stallone’s iconic character not be in the mix.

The 2018 installment gave a cryptic hint that Stallone may be exiting the franchise when Rocky celebrated Adonis defeating Ivan Drago’s son with; “It’s your time now.”

“But this is a Creed franchise, and we really want to build this story and this world around him moving forward” he continued. “So, it’s always respect and always a s*it ton of love for what he’s built; but we really want to push and navigate Adonis forward and the family that he created.”

Jordan continued, “Hopefully you guys will love what I’m thinking … what we’re cooking up. I think it’s going to be something special.”

With the original film directed by Ryan Coogler, the Rocky spinoff has found huge success, earning Stallone an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of Rocky Balboa, Adonis Creed’s manager. Creed III” will have a different director: It will mark Jordan’s directorial debut.

“Creed III,” which will include the return of the boxer’s partner and his mother, played by Tessa Thompson and Phylicia Rashad, comes out in November 2022. The film will be cowritten by Coogler’s brother Keenan.

Creed III will see Michael B. Jordan, Tessa Thompson and Phylicia Rashad reprising their roles in the franchise. The film opens in theaters Nov. 23, 2022