Creed reinvigorated the Rocky franchise in a way that no one really expected, as Michael B. Jordan’s take on Adonis Creed, son of Apollo Creed, managed to capture the imagination of a whole new generation. Now, Adonis is back in the trailer for Creed II, and the movie looks to continue building upon the legend of everyone’s favorite boxing movie franchise.
The trailer for the new film, set to Kendrick Lamar’s fitting and thumping track “DNA,” is one of the most exhilarating trailers we’ve seen in recent memory. In it, we see Adonis taking a beating and training to face an opponent that even Rocky seems to believe he has no chance of defeating, and it’s all to avenge his father’s death and prove his own worth as the son of a legendary fighter. The trailer builds with emotional conflicts between Adonis and the most important people in his life: his trainer Rocky, his mother (Phylicia Rashad), and his girlfriend Bianca (Tessa Thompson), before we learn just who it is Adonis will be facing. Viktor Drago, son of the Russian brute Ivan Drago who killed Apollo Creed in the ring in Rocky IV, will be squaring off against the still-green fighter. Viktor is played by real-life professional boxer and possible actual superhuman Florian Munteanu, and by the looks of him he definitely lives up to his father’s reputation. Check out the trailer below.
Creed II is directed by Steven Caple Jr., who takes over from Creed director Ryan Coogler, who is executive producing. Sylvester Stallone, in addition to co-starring, wrote the film’s script, marking his return to writing for the franchise after ceding writing duties for Creed. He previously penned all six Rocky movies.
Creed II hits theaters, and hits them hard, on Nov. 21.
