Who Came Back For Creed III And Who Missed Out?

A continuation of the Rocky Balboa storyline continues with Creed III.
American actor, Michael B. Jordan returns as lead actor and makes his directorial debut.
Other returning cast members are Tessa Thompson, but Sylvester Stallone does not make the cut.

EKO HOT BLOG reports that the highly anticipated movie, Creed III, has hit the theaters and fans of the beloved boxing franchise are eager to know who is returning and who is not.

The latest installment in the Rocky saga stars Michael B. Jordan, who not only reprises his role as Adonis Creed but also makes his directorial debut.

EDITOR’S PICKS

The film picks up where Creed II left off, with Adonis Creed contemplating retirement from boxing to focus on his family and interests in fashion and media.

Tessa Thompson returns as Adonis’ love interest, Bianca Taylor, who now has a daughter named Amara, played by Mila Davis-Kent. Amara was born deaf, which led her parents to communicate with her frequently in American Sign Language.

Bianca has given up performing to become a producer and songwriter for other singers, while Adonis’ adoptive mother Mary Anne Creed, played by Phylicia Rashad, is still an integral part of the family.

One notable absence from the film is Sylvester Stallone, who played Rocky Balboa in the first two Creed movies. Despite producing Creed III, Stallone is not an executive producer like Jordan, director Ryan Coogler, and original Rocky producer Irwin Winkler, which gave him less control over the story.

Stallone admitted in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter that he regretted not being involved and that the film was taken in a different direction than he would have liked. However, Jordan remains open to Stallone returning in the future.

Dolph Lundgren also did not reprise his role as Ivan Drago in Creed III, but Florian Munteanu made a small cameo as Viktor Drago. Tony Bellew also made a fun cameo as “Pretty” Ricky Conlan, the boxer Adonis faced off against in the first Creed.

Wood Harris returned as Tony “Little Duke” Evers, and his character now runs the L.A. gym originally patronized by Apollo Creed.