Following its impressive debut at the box office, Creed III has cemented a few key takeaways. Firstly, the spinoff franchise has a wider reach than just its connection to Apollo Creed. Secondly, Michael B. Jordan’s talents as both an actor and director are formidable. But how does Jordan’s legacy, compared to Sylvester Stallone’s, hold up in terms of the Rocky and Creed franchises? And can Jordan capitalize on the franchise more successfully than Stallone?
In a recent interview with Deadline, the interviewer noted that Stallone has expressed bitterness about his original deal for Rocky and his exclusion from the franchise’s generational legacy. Stallone has publicly discussed the lack of ownership he holds over the character and franchise, despite having created it. He lamented, “Who knew Rocky would go on for another 45 years? I’ve never used one [line of dialogue] from anyone else – and the irony is that I don’t own any of it. The people who have done literally nothing control it.” So, how does Jordan compare in terms of ownership and the legacy he could leave behind, particularly in comparison to Stallone and Rocky? Jordan didn’t offer a direct answer, saying, “That’s a very intelligent question. And I love you for it. Cause there’s parts of that I really want to answer, but I feel like that’s such a slippery slope and I’m not sure how to answer that, right now.”
While Jordan didn’t provide a clear answer, both he and Liz Raposo, his partner at Outlier Society Productions, hinted that they have a better grip on ownership and expansion. Raposo said, “We believe that given the incredible franchise IP we’re into that we can continue to show audiences that we make global entertainment with diversity and inclusion at its core.” Jordan added, without mentioning Rocky or Creed specifically, “This all gives us the currency to be part of the other big IP in a way that many production companies don’t really get that opportunity to do. Proving ourselves on this one shows that we can do this, soup to nuts.”
