The official synopsis for the upcoming holiday film, Creed has been released. The Rocky franchise-spinoff promises another thrilling chapter in the celebrated fighter taking a back seat in this story.
In this film, Adonis Johnson (Michael B. Jordan) never knew his famous father, world heavyweight champion Apollo Creed, who died before he was born. Still, there’s no denying that boxing is in his blood, so Adonis heads to Philadelphia, the site of Apollo Creed’s legendary match with a tough upstart named Rocky Balboa.
Once in the City of Brotherly Love, Adonis tracks Rocky (Sylvester Stallone) down and asks him to be his trainer. Despite his insistence that he is out of the fight game for good, Rocky sees in Adonis the strength and determination he had known in Apollo, the fierce rival who became his closest friend. Agreeing to take him on, Rocky trains the young fighter, even as the former champ is battling an opponent more deadly than any he faced in the ring. With Rocky in his corner, it isn’t long before Adonis gets his own shot at the title – but can he develop not only the drive but also the heart of a true fighter, in time to get into the ring?
Balboa was Creed’s father’s greatest opponent and later his best friend until that fateful moment when Balboa heeded Creed’s wishes and didn’t stop the fight against the Soviet fighter Drago (played by Dolph Lungdren in 1985′s Rocky IV) before the giant delivered what proved to be a fatal beating. The elder Creed, played by Carl Weathers, appeared in the first four Rocky films.
Also featured in the film are champion boxers Andre Ward and Tony Bellew, with Bellew to play a fighter named “Pretty Ricky Porter,” Michael B. Jordan’s main opponent in the ring.
Coogler wrote the script alongside Aaron Covington. Stallone will also produce, alongside Robert Chartoff, Kevin King and Irwin Winkler. Directed by Black Reel Award nominee, Ryan Coogler, the film stars Michael B. Jordan, Sylvester Stallone, Tessa Thompson, and Phylicia Rashad.
Creed opens in theaters on November 25, 2015
Check out a clip from the final fight between friends, Rocky Balboa and Apollo Creed, in Rocky below: