Talk about a surprise left. While Sylvester Stallone may have finished stepping into the ring as Rocky Balboa, that doesn’t mean the Rocky property is dead for MGM. Actually, the studio is looking to continue the Rocky saga but have this new series be about Apollo Creed’s grandson.
Deadline is reporting that MGM has set Ryan Coogler to direct Creed, and the studio is in early talks with Coogler’s Fruitvale Station star Michael B. Jordan to play the grandson of Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers). Coogler will write the screenplay with Aaron Covington.
The Pulse: With Station performing strongly in limited release, after taking top honors at the Sundance Film Festival this past February, this news intrigues me, but leaves me a little skeptical. It appears that Stallone will still be a viable part of the franchise, as he will reprise his role, but will now be in fighter-turned-trainer capacity (oh please don’t let this be Rocky V: Redux). What I like is Jordan’s involvement. The future looks bright for him and being a part of an already established property could lead to even bigger things. And early word has it that Coogler plans to correlate Creed’s story with the Balboa/Creed rivalry-then-friendship as seen in Rockys I-III.
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