The verdict is in: Creed is a hit with both audiences and critics — not to mention that it has already hauled in $115 million against a budget of just $35 million. With that said, it was always a pretty safe bet that this film would be getting a sequel.
According to Variety, a follow-up is already planned, and Sylvester Stallone has already discussed a few ideas with director Ryan Coogler.
The actor told Variety “Ryan has some ideas of going forward and backward and actually seeing Rocky and Apollo together. Think of The Godfather 2. That’s what he was thinking of, which was kind of ambitious.” He went on to tease another potential plotline that would see Adonis Johnson/Creed face off against a ferocious Russian foe, which would of course evoke thoughts of Ivan Drago and the whole “if he dies, he dies” thing.
“The complication will come with the girl’s [Bianca’s] ambition,” said Stallone. “Because she’s not Adrian. She has places to go, things to see, the clock is running on her hearing.”
For his part, Coogler didn’t seem all that thrilled that Stallone had made the world privy to their discussions. When he was approached for a reaction on Stallone’s comments the director reportedly responded with the words “Oh no!” before he sighed and said “there are no secrets with Sly.”
Unhappy though he may have been, he certainly didn’t deny that he and Stallone had had discussions about Creed 2. MGM CEO Gary Barber also seemed pretty open about the whole thing, saying “there’s no doubt that we’re making a Creed 2.”
The studio co-financed the Warner Bros. release and it looks like the strong box-office returns have it itching to get back in the ring.
This is all pretty preliminary but the bit about Rocky and Apollo together again, in particular, is nothing if not intriguing. Would it be done via CGI during a flashback or dream sequence? As part of an alternate timeline? It’s just tough to imagine it not feeling forced and gimmicky, and part of the strength of Creed was that it felt natural, fresh, and … well, not forced and gimmicky.
In any case, if you’ve yet to catch Creed, the film is currently in theaters.
