Michael B. Jordan returns to the box office with third installment of boxing film franchise “Creed III.”
The film is more than just a Rocky spinoff, “Creed III” explorers the complexities of Black masculinity and brotherhood. Jordan not only is the star in the film, but this marks the directorial debut of an artist who has been on television and movie screens since the age of 12.
In the first “Creed” film (2015), it followed the life of Adonis, the son of Rocky’s longtime rival and later friend, Apollo Creed. The plot focused on the life of a young orphaned boy living in the shadows of a boxing legend while stepping into his own identity following his father’s footsteps in the ring.
Now, the new installment stars Adonis thriving in his career and family life until a childhood friend and former boxing prodigy, Damian (Johnathan Majors), returns after serving a long sentence in prison, and is hungry to prove that he has a shot in the ring. Adonis puts his future on the line to battle Damian.
The streets are still part of Damian. As for Adonis, that part of his life is on the backburner. Both characters had a deep connection with one another in the past. They shared their love for boxing, but most tragically it was a serious event that caused them to make choices that completely altered the lives.
Adonis struggles with internal conflict facing a man who is a direct reminder of his past, and how that ultimately impacts how he communicates emotionally to his wife Bianca (Tessa Thompson).
Picture Motion, an award-winning advocacy and social impact agency, hosted a town hall celebrating brotherhood introducing a virtual panel discussion exploring themes in the film, resources, activism and support for Black men.
Special guests were “Creed III” stars Jordan and Majors.
“It’s all about stakes… being what’s at risk… what can be gained in this moment and what can be lost. Many times, [growing up], it’s kind of life and death. Some of us get harden to that. Some of us numb ourselves as a way to survive,” said Majors. “In many parts of my life. I only had one shot. My objective was to help people understand him [Damian] and know him.”
Other themes addressed in the film include survivor’s guilt and paying the “Black tax.”
“As a Black man in this world we have a certain weight to us. We also have an inherit superpower to be a chameleon and to amour ourselves,” Jordan said. “I think that has a lingering effect on how we move and operate in this world; especially how we operate between each other.”
“Creed III” hits theatre nationwide March 3rd.
