''Creed II'' is a 2018 American
sports
Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, th ...
drama film
In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...
directed by
Steven Caple Jr.
Steven Caple Jr. (born February 16, 1988) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. His credits include '' The Land'' (2016), ''Creed II'' (2018), ''A Different Tree'', and ''Prentice-N-Fury's Ice Cream Adventure''. In 2017, ''For ...
from a screenplay by Juel Taylor and
Sylvester Stallone
Sylvester Enzio Stallone (; born Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone, ) is an American actor and filmmaker. After his beginnings as a struggling actor for a number of years upon arriving to New York City in 1969 and later Hollywood in 1974, h ...
. The sequel to ''
Creed
A creed, also known as a confession of faith, a symbol, or a statement of faith, is a statement of the shared beliefs of a community (often a religious community) in a form which is structured by subjects which summarize its core tenets.
The ea ...
'' (2015) and the eighth installment in the
''Rocky'' franchise, the film stars
Michael B. Jordan
Michael Bakari Jordan (; born February 9, 1987) is an American actor. He is known for his film roles as shooting victim Oscar Grant in the drama ''Fruitvale Station'' (2013), boxer Adonis Creed in ''Creed'' (2015), and Erik Killmonger in ''Bl ...
, Stallone,
Tessa Thompson
Tessa Lynne Thompson (born October 3, 1983) is an American actress. She began her professional acting career with the Los Angeles Women's Shakespeare Company while studying at Santa Monica College. She appeared in productions of '' The Tempest ...
,
Wood Harris
Sherwin David "Wood" Harris (born October 17, 1969) is an American actor. He has portrayed the drug kingpin Avon Barksdale on the HBO crime drama ''The Wire'', cocaine dealer Ace in '' Paid in Full'' and high school football player Julius Campbe ...
,
Phylicia Rashad
Phylicia Rashad ( ) (née Ayers-Allen; born June 19, 1948) is an American actress, singer and director who is dean of the College of Fine Arts at Howard University. She is best known for her role as Clair Huxtable on the NBC sitcom ''The Cosby S ...
, and
Dolph Lundgren
Hans Lundgren (, ; born 3 November 1957), better known as Dolph Lundgren, is a Swedish actor, filmmaker and martial artist. His breakthrough came in 1985, when he starred in ''Rocky IV'' as the imposing Soviet boxer Ivan Drago. Since then, Lu ...
. In the film, under the continued tutelage of
Rocky Balboa
Robert "Rocky" Balboa (also known by his ring name The Italian Stallion), is a fictional title character and the protagonist of the ''Rocky'' film series. The character was created by Sylvester Stallone, who has also portrayed him in all eigh ...
(Stallone),
Donnie Creed
Adonis "Donnie" Creed (born Adonis Johnson) is a fictional character from the follow-ups to the Rocky (film series), ''Rocky'' film series: ''Creed (film), Creed'' (2015), ''Creed II'' (2018), and the upcoming ''Creed III'' (2023). The character i ...
(Jordan) faces off against Viktor Drago (Munteanu), the son of
Ivan Drago
Ivan Vasilyevich Drago (russian: Иван Васильевич Драго, ) is a Soviet-Russian fictional character from the ''Rocky'' film series. He first appears in the 1985 film ''Rocky IV'', in which he is the central antagonist and riv ...
(Lundgren).
A ''Creed'' sequel was confirmed in January 2016, but was delayed as
Ryan Coogler
Ryan Kyle Coogler (born May 23, 1986) is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. He is a recipient of four NAACP Image Awards, four Black Reel Awards, a Golden Globe Award nomination and an Academy Award nomination for Best Pictu ...
, the director of the predecessor, and Jordan faced scheduling conflicts due to their involvement in ''
Black Panther
A black panther is the melanistic colour variant of the leopard (''Panthera pardus'') and the jaguar (''Panthera onca''). Black panthers of both species have excess black pigments, but their typical rosettes are also present. They have been d ...
'' (2018); Coogler was originally replaced by Stallone, who completed the screenplay by July 2017, but he was replaced by Caple that December, with Coogler instead serving as an
executive producer
Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights o ...
on ''Creed II''. The rest of the cast, including the returns of Thompson, Rashad, and Lundgren, was finalized by March 2018, and
principal photography
Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production.
Personnel
Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...
began that same month and lasted until that June, with filming primarily taking place on location in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
.
''Creed II'' premiered on November 14, 2018, at the
Lincoln Center
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 millio ...
in New York City and was theatrically released in the United States by
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...
through their distribution joint venture with
Annapurna Pictures
Annapurna Pictures is an independent American media company founded by Megan Ellison in 2011, that specializes in film production, live theatre production, television through its Annapurna Television division, and video game publishing through i ...
(which was later rebranded as
United Artists Releasing
United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the studio ...
) and internationally by
Warner Bros. Pictures
Warner Bros. Pictures is an American film production and distribution company of the Warner Bros. Pictures Group division of Warner Bros. Entertainment (both ultimately owned by Warner Bros. Discovery). The studio is the flagship producer of liv ...
on November 21. The film received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised the performances (particularly those of Stallone, Jordan, and Lundgren), character development, and Caple's direction, while noting its predictability. It was also a commercial success, grossing $214 million worldwide.
The sequel, ''
Creed III
''Creed III'' is an upcoming American sports drama film directed by Michael B. Jordan (in his feature directorial debut) with a screenplay by Keenan Coogler and Zach Baylin from a story they co-wrote with Ryan Coogler. The sequel to ''Creed II ...
'', directed by Jordan in his directorial debut, is scheduled to be released March 3, 2023.
Plot
In 2018, three years after his loss to "Pretty" Ricky Conlan,
Adonis "Donnie" Creed, with his trainer
Rocky Balboa
Robert "Rocky" Balboa (also known by his ring name The Italian Stallion), is a fictional title character and the protagonist of the ''Rocky'' film series. The character was created by Sylvester Stallone, who has also portrayed him in all eigh ...
by his side, has won six straight bouts, culminating in a victory over Danny "Stuntman" Wheeler to win the WBC World Heavyweight Championship, as well as win back his 1967
Ford Mustang
The Ford Mustang is a series of American automobiles manufactured by Ford. In continuous production since 1964, the Mustang is currently the longest-produced Ford car nameplate. Currently in its sixth generation, it is the fifth-best selli ...
that he lost to Wheeler in a bet prior. Now a worldwide star, Donnie proposes to his girlfriend, Bianca Taylor, who agrees to marry him. Bianca suggests starting a new life together in Los Angeles, but Donnie is reluctant to leave Philadelphia, and by extension, Rocky.
In Ukraine,
Ivan Drago
Ivan Vasilyevich Drago (russian: Иван Васильевич Драго, ) is a Soviet-Russian fictional character from the ''Rocky'' film series. He first appears in the 1985 film ''Rocky IV'', in which he is the central antagonist and riv ...
, the former
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
boxer who killed Donnie's father
Apollo Creed
Apollo Creed is a fictional character from the ''Rocky'' films, played by Carl Weathers.
He serves as the main antagonist in ''Rocky'' and '' Rocky II'' and also appears in ''Rocky III'' and ''Rocky IV''. He is a tough but agile boxer w ...
during a bout in 1985, has been living destitute since losing to Rocky that same year, and seeks an opportunity to regain glory. Assisted by promoter Buddy Marcelle, Ivan pits his son, Viktor, against Donnie. When Rocky refuses to support Donnie's acceptance of Viktor's challenge, Donnie leaves for Los Angeles.
Donnie and Bianca settle down in a luxurious apartment in Los Angeles close to Donnie's adoptive mother and Apollo's widow, Mary Anne. As they adjust to their new life and prepare for the upcoming match, Bianca learns that she is pregnant. Donnie recruits Tony "Little Duke" Evers, son of
his father's trainer and later Rocky's trainer, to start training him. Overwhelmed by his life's recent developments, the underprepared Donnie rushes into the match and is badly injured. Viktor is disqualified for hitting Donnie while he is down, allowing Donnie to retain the World Heavyweight Championship. Despite his loss, Viktor becomes extremely popular in Russia and wins a series of fights with top billing.
His body and ego shattered, Donnie becomes increasingly disconnected from Bianca. Mary Anne reaches out to Rocky, who reconciles with Donnie and agrees to train him for a rematch against Viktor, who is suffering torturous physical tests at Ivan's hands. Bianca gives birth to a daughter, Amara, and Rocky is named her godfather; however, Amara is born deaf, inheriting it from her mother's progressive hearing disorder.
While Viktor taunts Donnie publicly, he faces constant pressure from his father behind the scenes, who enjoys the attentions of the media and various Russian delegates. At a state dinner, he and Ivan encounter Ludmilla, his mother and Ivan's ex-wife, for the first time in several years after she abandoned them following Ivan's loss to Rocky. Enraged at the sight of her, Viktor storms out of the dinner and chastises Ivan for seeking approval from those who cast them out. Meanwhile, Rocky and Little Duke retrain Donnie in a decrepit location in the California desert, focusing on fighting from within and training Donnie's body to absorb the heavy impact he will receive from Viktor in the ring.
In Moscow, the rematch is more balanced as a more controlled and focused Donnie exchanges equal blows with Viktor. Viktor is used to winning by knockout as his bouts have never lasted past four rounds; Donnie
uses this to his advantage and willingly endures a heavy beating from Viktor, even after his ribs are broken. In the tenth round, Donnie unleashes sequence after sequence of effective blows and knocks Viktor down twice. Ludmilla departs after the second knockdown, upsetting Viktor, and Ivan sees the truth of his son's earlier words. An exhausted Viktor is cornered and receives multiple strikes without defending himself, but is unwilling to go down. Realizing that his son's safety means more to him than acceptance from Russia's elite, Ivan throws in the towel, forfeiting the fight to protect his son. He assures the distraught Viktor it is okay that he lost, and embraces him. As Bianca enters the ring to celebrate with Donnie and Little Duke, Rocky recuses himself and takes a seat to watch them from outside the ring.
Following the match, Viktor and Ivan later train together back in Ukraine. Rocky travels to
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
to make peace with his own estranged son, Robert Jr., and meets his grandson Logan for the first time. Donnie and Bianca visit Apollo's grave, where Donnie makes peace with his deceased father and the burden of carrying on his legacy, as he and Bianca introduce Amara, who now has a new set of hearing aids.
Cast
*
Michael B. Jordan
Michael Bakari Jordan (; born February 9, 1987) is an American actor. He is known for his film roles as shooting victim Oscar Grant in the drama ''Fruitvale Station'' (2013), boxer Adonis Creed in ''Creed'' (2015), and Erik Killmonger in ''Bl ...
as
Adonis "Donnie" Creed: An underdog but talented heavyweight boxer, he is the son of world heavyweight champion
Apollo Creed
Apollo Creed is a fictional character from the ''Rocky'' films, played by Carl Weathers.
He serves as the main antagonist in ''Rocky'' and '' Rocky II'' and also appears in ''Rocky III'' and ''Rocky IV''. He is a tough but agile boxer w ...
. His real name is Donnie Johnson, but he fights as Donnie Creed.
*
Sylvester Stallone
Sylvester Enzio Stallone (; born Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone, ) is an American actor and filmmaker. After his beginnings as a struggling actor for a number of years upon arriving to New York City in 1969 and later Hollywood in 1974, h ...
as
Robert "Rocky" Balboa: A two-time world heavyweight champion and Apollo's best friend and former rival who becomes Adonis's avuncular trainer and mentor. He owns and operates an Italian restaurant in Philadelphia named after his deceased wife, Adrian.
*
Tessa Thompson
Tessa Lynne Thompson (born October 3, 1983) is an American actress. She began her professional acting career with the Los Angeles Women's Shakespeare Company while studying at Santa Monica College. She appeared in productions of '' The Tempest ...
as
Bianca Taylor: Donnie's girlfriend, who becomes his fiancée and the mother of his child. She is also a singer-songwriter with progressive hearing loss.
*
Phylicia Rashad
Phylicia Rashad ( ) (née Ayers-Allen; born June 19, 1948) is an American actress, singer and director who is dean of the College of Fine Arts at Howard University. She is best known for her role as Clair Huxtable on the NBC sitcom ''The Cosby S ...
as
Mary Anne Creed: Apollo's widow and Adonis's stepmother, who takes in Adonis as a child following the death of Adonis' biological mother.
*
Dolph Lundgren
Hans Lundgren (, ; born 3 November 1957), better known as Dolph Lundgren, is a Swedish actor, filmmaker and martial artist. His breakthrough came in 1985, when he starred in ''Rocky IV'' as the imposing Soviet boxer Ivan Drago. Since then, Lu ...
as
Captain Ivan Drago:
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
's former prize champion boxer, who, with the secret use of steroids and advanced training, gained worldwide attention due to his brute strength that had not been seen before. Years prior, he killed Apollo Creed during an exhibition boxing match, and was later defeated by Rocky. Having been disgraced in Russia, he relocated to Ukraine to raise his son Viktor, whom he also trained to box. Lundgren reprises his role from 1985's ''
Rocky IV
''Rocky IV'' is a 1985 American sports drama film written, directed by and starring Sylvester Stallone. It is the sequel to ''Rocky III'' (1982) and is the fourth installment in the ''Rocky'' franchise. It also stars Talia Shire, Burt Young, Ca ...
''.
*
Florian Munteanu
Florian Munteanu (; born 13 October 1990), also known by his ring name Big Nasty, is a German-born Romanian actor and boxer. He is known for his role of the boxer Viktor Drago in ''Creed II'' (2018) and ''Creed III'' (2023), and Razor Fist (Marv ...
as Viktor Drago: Ivan's son who is a burly and ruthless boxer, and Adonis's new rival.
*
Wood Harris
Sherwin David "Wood" Harris (born October 17, 1969) is an American actor. He has portrayed the drug kingpin Avon Barksdale on the HBO crime drama ''The Wire'', cocaine dealer Ace in '' Paid in Full'' and high school football player Julius Campbe ...
as
Tony "Little Duke" Evers: One of Wheeler's trainers. His father,
Tony "Duke" Evers
This is a list of characters from the ''Rocky'' film series, consisting of ''Rocky'' (1976), '' Rocky II'' (1979), ''Rocky III'' (1982), ''Rocky IV'' (1985), ''Rocky V'' (1990), '' Rocky Balboa'' (2006), '' Creed'' (2015), ''Creed II'' (2018) a ...
, was a father-figure for Apollo as well as his trainer when Apollo became world heavyweight champion. He then became one of Rocky's trainers after Apollo's death. He trains Adonis for his fight with Viktor and later assists Rocky in training Adonis for his rematch with Viktor.
*
Russell Hornsby
Russell Hornsby (born May 15, 1974) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Edward "Eddie" Sutton on ABC Family's '' Lincoln Heights'', as Luke on the HBO drama ''In Treatment'', as Detective Hank Griffin on the NBC series ''Grimm'', a ...
as Buddy Marcelle: A boxing promoter who sets up the match between Adonis and Viktor.
*
Milo Ventimiglia
Milo Anthony Ventimiglia (, ; born July 8, 1977) is an American actor. Making his screen acting debut on ''The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'' in 1995, he portrayed the lead role on the short-lived series '' Opposite Sex'' in 2000 before landing his br ...
as
Rocky Balboa Jr.: Rocky's estranged son, who moved to Vancouver in the period between ''
Rocky Balboa
Robert "Rocky" Balboa (also known by his ring name The Italian Stallion), is a fictional title character and the protagonist of the ''Rocky'' film series. The character was created by Sylvester Stallone, who has also portrayed him in all eigh ...
'' (2006) and ''Creed'' and is now a father himself. Ventimiglia reprises his role from the former film.
*
Andre Ward
Andre Michael Ward (born February 23, 1984) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2004 to 2017. He retired with an undefeated record and held multiple world titles in two weight classes, including the unified WBA (Super), ...
as
Danny "Stuntman" Wheeler: A heavyweight boxer and Adonis's rival whom Adonis beats to become the heavyweight champion.
*
Brigitte Nielsen
Brigitte Nielsen (; born Gitte Nielsen; 15 July 1963) is a Danish actress, model, and singer. She began her career modelling for Greg Gorman and Helmut Newton. She subsequently acted in the 1985 films ''Red Sonja'' and ''Rocky IV'', later retu ...
as
Ludmilla Vobet Drago: Ivan's ex-wife and Viktor's mother who left the pair during the latter's infancy. Nielsen also reprises her role from ''
Rocky IV
''Rocky IV'' is a 1985 American sports drama film written, directed by and starring Sylvester Stallone. It is the sequel to ''Rocky III'' (1982) and is the fourth installment in the ''Rocky'' franchise. It also stars Talia Shire, Burt Young, Ca ...
''.
In addition, Robbie Johns appears briefly as Logan Balboa, Robert's son and Rocky's grandson. Archive footage of
Carl Weathers
Carl Weathers (born January 14, 1948) is an American actor and former professional football player. He is known for his roles as boxer Apollo Creed in the first four ''Rocky'' films (1976–85), George Dillon in ''Predator'' (1987), Action Jac ...
as Apollo Creed is used throughout the film, with the actor's likeness also appearing through the use of photographs and murals.
Production
Development and writing
On January 5, 2016,
Sylvester Stallone
Sylvester Enzio Stallone (; born Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone, ) is an American actor and filmmaker. After his beginnings as a struggling actor for a number of years upon arriving to New York City in 1969 and later Hollywood in 1974, h ...
and
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 ...
CEO
Gary Barber
Gary Barber (born 1957) is a South African-born American film producer. Barber was the chairman and CEO of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. He is also co-founder of Spyglass Entertainment.
Biography
Barber was born to a Jewish family in Johannesburg, So ...
confirmed to ''
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' that a sequel to ''Creed'' was in development.
The same month, Stallone posed the possibility of seeing
Milo Ventimiglia
Milo Anthony Ventimiglia (, ; born July 8, 1977) is an American actor. Making his screen acting debut on ''The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'' in 1995, he portrayed the lead role on the short-lived series '' Opposite Sex'' in 2000 before landing his br ...
appear in the sequel, reprising his role as Rocky's son Robert Balboa from ''Rocky Balboa''. Ventimiglia previously revealed during the development of ''Creed'' that he was open to returning to the franchise, stating, "I'll tell you what, if they invited me, I'd love to be there. If they didn't, I wouldn't be offended." It was revealed in April 2018 that Ventimiglia would have an appearance in the film.
On January 11, 2016, Barber revealed that
Ryan Coogler
Ryan Kyle Coogler (born May 23, 1986) is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. He is a recipient of four NAACP Image Awards, four Black Reel Awards, a Golden Globe Award nomination and an Academy Award nomination for Best Pictu ...
would not be returning due to scheduling conflicts, because he was attached to ''
Black Panther
A black panther is the melanistic colour variant of the leopard (''Panthera pardus'') and the jaguar (''Panthera onca''). Black panthers of both species have excess black pigments, but their typical rosettes are also present. They have been d ...
'', though he would return as executive producer.
Michael B. Jordan
Michael Bakari Jordan (; born February 9, 1987) is an American actor. He is known for his film roles as shooting victim Oscar Grant in the drama ''Fruitvale Station'' (2013), boxer Adonis Creed in ''Creed'' (2015), and Erik Killmonger in ''Bl ...
's schedule ended up being delayed due to ''Black Panther'', as he was starring in that film.
[ In July 2017, Stallone confirmed that he had completed the script for the sequel, and also revealed that ]Ivan Drago
Ivan Vasilyevich Drago (russian: Иван Васильевич Драго, ) is a Soviet-Russian fictional character from the ''Rocky'' film series. He first appears in the 1985 film ''Rocky IV'', in which he is the central antagonist and riv ...
would be featured in the film. In October 2017, it was announced that Stallone would direct and produce the film. However, in December 2017, it was reported that Steven Caple Jr.
Steven Caple Jr. (born February 16, 1988) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. His credits include '' The Land'' (2016), ''Creed II'' (2018), ''A Different Tree'', and ''Prentice-N-Fury's Ice Cream Adventure''. In 2017, ''For ...
would instead direct the film with Tessa Thompson
Tessa Lynne Thompson (born October 3, 1983) is an American actress. She began her professional acting career with the Los Angeles Women's Shakespeare Company while studying at Santa Monica College. She appeared in productions of '' The Tempest ...
confirmed to reprise her role of Bianca, Creed's love interest. In January 2018, Romanian amateur boxer Florian Munteanu was cast in the film to play Drago's son with Dolph Lundgren
Hans Lundgren (, ; born 3 November 1957), better known as Dolph Lundgren, is a Swedish actor, filmmaker and martial artist. His breakthrough came in 1985, when he starred in ''Rocky IV'' as the imposing Soviet boxer Ivan Drago. Since then, Lu ...
set to reprise his role of Drago. In March 2018, Russell Hornsby
Russell Hornsby (born May 15, 1974) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Edward "Eddie" Sutton on ABC Family's '' Lincoln Heights'', as Luke on the HBO drama ''In Treatment'', as Detective Hank Griffin on the NBC series ''Grimm'', a ...
joined the cast while Phylicia Rashad
Phylicia Rashad ( ) (née Ayers-Allen; born June 19, 1948) is an American actress, singer and director who is dean of the College of Fine Arts at Howard University. She is best known for her role as Clair Huxtable on the NBC sitcom ''The Cosby S ...
, Wood Harris
Sherwin David "Wood" Harris (born October 17, 1969) is an American actor. He has portrayed the drug kingpin Avon Barksdale on the HBO crime drama ''The Wire'', cocaine dealer Ace in '' Paid in Full'' and high school football player Julius Campbe ...
, and Andre Ward
Andre Michael Ward (born February 23, 1984) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2004 to 2017. He retired with an undefeated record and held multiple world titles in two weight classes, including the unified WBA (Super), ...
were confirmed to reprise their roles from the prior film.
Vince DiCola
Vincent Louis "Vince" DiCola (born November 11, 1957) is an American composer, keyboardist and arranger. He has composed scores for films such as '' Staying Alive'', ''Rocky IV'', and '' The Transformers: The Movie''. DiCola also pioneered the u ...
, composer of ''Rocky IV
''Rocky IV'' is a 1985 American sports drama film written, directed by and starring Sylvester Stallone. It is the sequel to ''Rocky III'' (1982) and is the fourth installment in the ''Rocky'' franchise. It also stars Talia Shire, Burt Young, Ca ...
'', was originally rumored to return to score the film, but stated in a Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
post: "I would have loved to return, however that's just how Hollywood works. We don't always get what we want."
Filming
Principal photography
Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production.
Personnel
Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...
began March 2018. Filming occurred in Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
, in the city's Port Richmond neighborhood, and was completed on June 7, 2018. Some scenes were filmed at the Grey Towers Castle at Arcadia University
Arcadia University is a private university in Glenside, Pennsylvania. The university enrolls approximately 4,000 undergraduate, master's, and doctoral students. The campus features Grey Towers Castle, a National Historic Landmark.
History Be ...
in Glenside, Pennsylvania. The Hospital scenes were filmed at Temple University Hospital's Boyer Pavillion at Broad and Tioga Streets.
Visual effects
The visual effects were provided by Zero VFX
ZERO VFX is a visual effects and creative studio with offices in Boston, Massachusetts and Venice Beach, California. Co-founded by Brian Drewes and Sean Devereaux in 2010, the company works on feature film and commercial projects.
History
Z ...
and Mr. X and Supervised by Eric Robinson, Dan Cayer and Crystal Dowd with the help of Crafty Apes.
Music
Soundtrack
Release
Theatrical
''Creed II'' was released in the United States on November 21, 2018. It premiered on November 14, 2018, at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 millio ...
in New York City.
On December 21, 2018, it was announced the film would receive a January 4, 2019 release in China, the first ''Rocky'' film to ever receive a theatrical release in the country.
Reception
Box office
''Creed II'' grossed $115.7 million in the United States and Canada, and $98.4 million in other territories, for a total worldwide gross of $214.1 million, against a production budget of $50 million.[
In the United States and Canada, ''Creed II'' was released alongside '']Ralph Breaks the Internet
''Ralph Breaks the Internet'' is a 2018 American computer-animated comedy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. The 57th animated film produced by the studio and the sequel to ...
'' and ''Robin Hood
Robin Hood is a legendary heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature and film. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions of the legend, he is depic ...
'', as well as the wide expansion of '' Green Book'', and was projected to gross $44–54 million from 3,350 theaters in its five-day opening weekend. The film made $11.6 million on its first day, including $3.7 million from Tuesday night previews (the second best pre-Thanksgiving total ever behind fellow release ''Ralph Breaks the Internet''s $3.8 million and marking a 64% improvement over the first film's $1.4 million preview total). It went on to debut to $35.3 million in its opening weekend (a five-day total of $55.8 million), finishing second at the box office and marking the best Thanksgiving opening for a live-action film, besting '' Enchanted'' ($49.1 million) and ''Four Christmases
''Four Christmases'' is a 2008 American Christmas comedy film about a couple visiting all four of their divorced parents' homes on Christmas Day. It stars Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon with Robert Duvall, Jon Favreau, Mary Steenburgen, Dwight ...
'' ($46.1 million). In its second and third weekends the film made $16.8 million and $10 million, finishing in third both times. Over the five-day Christmas frame (its fifth week of release), the film passed the $109.7 million domestic total made by the first film.
Critical response
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, the film holds an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . The website's critical consensus reads, "''Creed II''s adherence to franchise formula adds up to a sequel with few true surprises, but its time-tested generational themes still pack a solid punch." On Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, the film has a weighted average score of 66 out of 100, based on reviews from 45 critics, indicating " favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore
CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data.
Background
Ed Mintz founded Ci ...
gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale, the same score earned by its predecessor, while PostTrak
PostTrak is a U.S.-based service that surveys film audiences for film studios.
History
The service conducts surveys in the top 20 markets in the U.S. and Canada with the use of polling cards and electronic kiosks. A PostTrak report for a film a ...
reported filmgoers gave it an 87% positive score and an 89% "definite recommend".
Odie Henderson of ''RogerEbert.com
''RogerEbert.com'' is an American film review website that archives reviews written by film critic Roger Ebert for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' and also shares other critics' reviews and essays. The website, underwritten by the ''Chicago Sun-Times' ...
'' gave the film three out of four stars, stating that "''Creed II'' falls victim to the sins of sequelitis—it's bigger, louder and more grandiose than its predecessor—yet manages to right itself by not losing focus on the humanity of its central characters." Owen Gleiberman
Owen Gleiberman (born February 24, 1959) is an American film critic who has been chief film critic for ''Variety'' magazine since May 2016, a title he shares with . Previously, Gleiberman wrote for ''Entertainment Weekly'' from 1990 until 2014. ...
of ''Variety
Variety may refer to:
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* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' called the film "rousing and effective" and wrote "''Creed II'' has been made with heart and skill, and Jordan invests each moment with such fierce conviction that he makes it all seem like it matters. Even if it all mattered a notable notch more in ''Creed''." Eric Kohn of IndieWire
IndieWire (sometimes stylized as indieWIRE or Indiewire) is a film industry and review website that was established in 1996. The site's focus was predominantly independent film, although its coverage has grown to "to include all aspects of Hollyw ...
gave the film a "B", praising Stallone's performance and saying: "Kramer Morgenthau's cinematography lacks the showy steadicam
Steadicam is a brand of camera stabilizer mounts for Movie camera, motion picture cameras invented by Garrett Brown and introduced in 1975 by Cinema Products Corporation. It was designed to isolate the camera from the camera operator's movement ...
acrobatics of ''Creed'', but the climactic battle between Adonis and Viktor still delivers a dazzling light show that dovetails right into the visceral mayhem of the battle, captured from so many angles some viewers may reel from the punches themselves."
Sequel
In response to the suggestion that Deontay Wilder
Deontay Leshun Wilder (; born October 22, 1985) is an American professional boxer. He held the WBC heavyweight title from 2015 to 2020, making 10 successful defenses. By winning the title, Wilder became the first American world heavyweight ch ...
could play the son of Clubber Lang in a potential ''Creed III'', both Sylvester Stallone and Michael B. Jordan expressed interest in such a character being featured in the plot of the next installment. In February 2020, Zach Baylin was announced as the sequel's writer. In October 2020, it was reported that, in addition to reprising his role of Adonis Creed, Michael B. Jordan would also direct ''Creed III'', serving as his directorial debut. Jordan was confirmed as the director of ''Creed III'' in March 2021, with a targeted release date of March 3, 2023, while Stallone confirmed in April that he would not appear as Rocky Balboa.
As of July 2019, the ''Rocky'' franchise as a whole was announced to continue with another mentor-student film à la ''Creed'', set post-''Creed II'' in which Rocky Balboa would befriend a young fighter who is also an undocumented immigrant. Stallone stated: "Rocky meets a young, angry person who got stuck in this country when he comes to see his sister. He takes him into his life, and unbelievable adventures begin, and they wind up south of the border. It's very, very timely." In addition he announced the development of a ''Rocky'' prequel television series.
Notes
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