'Creed 3' Could Mark The Directorial Debut Of Franchise Star Michael B. Jordan

The Rocky franchise starring Sylvester Stallone was resurrected with Creed, focusing on a new main character in the form of Michael B. Jordan as Adonis Johnson, son of the late, great Apollo Creed, a longtime friend and boxing opponent of Rocky Balboa. Not only did it rejuvenate the franchise, bit it created a new legacy by passing the torch and feeling like something familiar and fresh at the same time.

Now Creed is following in the footsteps of Rocky by become a full on franchise. Creed II gave Adonis Creed his revenge by being victorious over Viktor Drago, son of Ivan Drago, the Russian boxer who killed Apollo Creed in the ring. Now Creed 3 is in the works at MGM, and thought we don't know what's in store for young Adonis Johnson, the sequel could hold a new challenge for Michael B. Jordan, who is reportedly looking to direct the third installment of the spin-off franchise.

News of Michael B. Jordan directing Creed 3 was buried in a Deadline report about the possibility of No Time to Die being sold off to a streaming service like Netflix, Apple and Amazon (but that won't be happening). In the same breath that the James Bond franchise was described as the crown jewel of MGM's movie slate, the report nonchalantly mentions that Michael B Jordan is considering directing Creed 3.

If Jordan ends up directing Creed 3, it would mark his directorial debut. In addition to starring in the Creed franchise, Jordan served as an executive producer on Creed II, so directing seems like the logical next step. Surely Jordan has learned a lot from Creed director Ryan Coogler, who gave Jordan a role in all three of his movies so far, starting with Fruitvale Station back in 2013.

This isn't the first time Jordan's name has been mentioned as a candidate to direct Creed 3. Rocky franchise producer Irwin Winkler mentioned the potential opportunity in his book A Life in Movies: Stories From 50 Years in Hollywood. In the book (via Men's Health), Winkler said:

"I promised Michael B. Jordan that he'd get his chance to direct Creed III. Last year in a conversation with our Creed star Michael B. Jordan, I offered him the opportunity to not only star in, but also to direct Creed III."

There's no guarantee that he'll take the opportunity, especially since directing and starring in the movie is quite a big responsibility. But the Creed franchise undoubtedly means a lot to him, and surely he's carefully considering whether or not it's a step in his career that he wants to take right now. But we're bound to find out soon. No matter who ends up directing, I just hope the script from Zach Baylin has a story that makes the sequel feel like more than just another Rocky sequel.