Michael B. Jordan will make directorial debut with ‘Creed III’

The 34-year-old screen star will direct and play the lead in the franchise film, which now has an official release date.

Actor/producer Michael B. Jordan will soon be adding “director” to his lengthy resume. 

The 34-year-old screen star will be directing and playing the lead in the highly-anticipated Creed III, which now has an official release date: Nov. 23, 2022. A coveted Thanksgiving release date will hopefully lead to success in the latest installment — its ninth — of the classic Rocky movie franchise. 

Michael B. Jordan portrays Adonis Creed in the 2018 film, “Creed II,” to which a sequel — that Jordan himself will direct — has just been announced. (Metro Goldwyn Mayer/Entertainment Pictures)

In a statement to Variety, Jordan said, “Directing has always been an aspiration, but the timing had to be right. ‘Creed III‘ is that moment — a time in my life where I’ve grown more sure of who I am, holding agency in my own story, maturing personally, growing professionally, and learning from the greats like Ryan Coogler, most recently Denzel Washington, and other top tier directors I respect. All of which sets the table for this moment.” 

“This franchise and in particular the themes of ‘Creed III‘ are deeply personal to me,” continued Jordan. “I look forward to sharing the next chapter of Adonis Creed’s story with the awesome responsibility of being its director and namesake.”

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Sylvester Stallone, who wrote and starred in the first hit Rocky movie, released in 1976, also directed four installments of the franchise. He was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award for the first Creed film in 2016. He won the Golden Globe that year for his portrayal of Rocky Balboa. 

Creed director and co-writer Coogler said he was happy to pass the torch.

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“The films of Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky franchise have always been important to me and my family,” he said. “It was an honor to help bring the Creed franchise to life with Sly, Michael, Tessa, Irwin and all the creative parties involved. I couldn’t be more thrilled to see Mike in the director’s chair on the third installment.” 

Jordan will next star in Without Remorse on Amazon Prime Video this April. The film is a fast-paced adaptation of a Tom Clancy novel and also stars Lauren London. 

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