Maybe Creed Can Help Everyone Forget About Rocky Balboa

Rocky Balboa, the sixth of the Rocky movies, may have been financially successful and critically acceptable, but man, it felt really dated with a 60-year-old Sylvester Stallone shuffling around with Antonio Tarver. Creed is clearly intent on extending the franchise with a new, young boxing protagonist, and seeing how that goes.

Michael B. Jordan, who has enough other work under his belt to never be referred to as Wallace from The Wire again, plays the son of Apollo Creed. Wood Harris has some sort of role, and of course, Stallone will stop by, too. He just won’t be in the ring (we hope). Ryan Coogler, who worked with Jordan in the film Fruitvale Station, will direct Creed.

The trailer hits on all the expected beats—training, love interest, conflict at weigh-ins, more training, and Jordan running in the street—but with Jordan as the boxer, it doesn’t feel as rote. Rocky had a nice career, but Creed can hopefully make everyone forget about the fact that the last Rocky movie featured an opponent named Mason Dixon.

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