Ivan Drago proved to be one of Rocky's toughest opponents, and their fight was made all the more dramatic by its literal life-or-death stakes. The early scenes of Rocky IV famously saw the death of Apollo Creed at the hands of Ivan Drago as the two boxers faced off in an exhibition bout.
But, it was shown that Apollo severely underestimated Drago to the extreme. Not only did he not even know how Drago fights, but he also didn't even attempt to properly prepare for this fight. He came into the fight weak, rusty, and unprepared, and it cost him his life.
The 76-year-old actor said in an interview that he did not participate in the filming of the movie because the story had been given a direction with which he did not agree. "That's a regretful situation because I know what it could have been," Stallone told THR about disagreeing with the new film's tone.
Although Rocky did get diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in the first Creed movie, he seemingly recovered before the events of Creed II. Rocky is still alive at the end of Creed II, meaning that something else had to have happened to him in between films.
Rocky declines. After returning home, Rocky and Adrian discover they are broke after Paulie was fooled into signing a "power of attorney" over to Rocky's accountant, who squandered all of his money on real estate deals gone sour and failed to pay Rocky's taxes over the previous six years.
When asked if there were any plans for Creed 4 or potentially a spinoff, Jordan confirmed Creed 4, and added: "I just want to expand the Creed-verse within reason, but definitely expect other things around Creed for sure." In the meantime, we have Creed 3 coming March 3, 2023, as Jordan's directorial debut.
Drago exhibits no remorse, coldly stating "if he dies, he dies", claiming he will soon "defeat a real champion". Apollo does indeed die, succumbing to his injuries.
The final real-life boxer in Creed III is Tony Bellew, with the actor returning to the Creed movies as "Pretty" Ricky Conlan. Bellew is a 40-year-old English boxer that has been in 34 fights, winning 30, with 20 of them being by knockout.
If Apollo had survived his fight with Drago and lived to train Adonis, the Creed movies could have been a far more complete spin-off. If Apollo was acting as Donnie's trainer, the Creed movies wouldn't need Rocky Balboa at all, because his role would be taken by his former rival turned friend.
In Creed II, which Stallone also co-wrote and produced, he reprised his iconic role to train and mentor Adonis as he faces Viktor Drago, the son of Ivan Drago, who killed Adonis' father, Apollo Creed.
While the story of his first film is loosely inspired by Chuck Wepner, a boxer who fought Muhammad Ali and lost on a TKO in the 15th round, the inspiration for the name, iconography and fighting style came from boxing legend Rocco Francis "Rocky Marciano" Marchegiano, though his surname coincidentally also resembles ...
Adonis "Donnie" Creed (born Adonis Johnson) is the fictional protagonist of the Creed trilogy — Creed (2015), Creed II (2018), and Creed III (2023) — the follow-up franchise to the Rocky film series. The character is played by Michael B. Jordan in all three installments.
Rocky 7 very nearly happened, with Sylvester Stallone recently revealing details on the canceled film - but it would have hurt the franchise. It has been revealed that Rocky 7 almost happened, but its cancelation was the best move for the Rocky franchise.
Adonis' age is hard to pin down as it was never confirmed in the first film, and when it was stated in the second film, it didn't make sense with the timeline. A quick online search of Adonis Creed's birthday reveals he was born on June 1st, 1986, which means in the year 2023, he would be turning 37.
The main story is set in the West Indies during the Golden Age of Piracy from 1715 to 1722, and follows notorious Welsh pirate Edward Kenway, grandfather of Assassin's Creed III protagonist Ratonhnhaké:ton / Connor and father of antagonist Haytham Kenway, as he searches for fortune and a mythical location called the ...
Milo Ventimiglia as Rocky Balboa Jr.: Rocky's estranged son, who moved to Vancouver in the period between Rocky Balboa (2006) and Creed and is now a father himself. Ventimiglia reprises his role from the former film.
T's iconic fighter still hasn't reappeared in the series despite his huge legacy. Because of this, Clubber Lang has been a highly requested character for the Creed series, and while it hasn't happened yet, it still could. Luckily, Creed III set up the perfect Clubber Lang story for Creed IV.
Adrian's death improved the original story of Rocky Balboa by providing a richer and more heart-wrenching narrative centered around grief and purpose. Adrian's absence allowed for the exploration of Rocky's relationship with his son, creating one of the best aspects of the movie and a fitting end for the character.
It made Stallone's career but the success was in some ways bittersweet. "I have zero ownership of Rocky,” Stallone told Varietyin 2019. In the same story, Winkler claims that Stallone's stake in 2016's Creed alone netted him $10 million.
