Michael B. Jordan Breaks Down ‘Creed III’ As The First Trailer Drops Online

Creed III sees Michael B. Jordan change gears as he evolves from actor to actor-director. The highly anticipated sports drama sees him make his feature directorial debut with the third entry in the multimillion-dollar series born out of the iconic Rocky franchise.

2015’s Creed and the sequel, Creed II, grossed a combined $387.7 million at the box office. It’s hoped the latest entry will be another knockout hit with critics and audiences when it steps into the theatrical ring on Friday, March 3, 2023.

Set a few years after the previous entry, Creed III sees Jordan return as a thriving Adonis “Donnie” Creed. However, the good times get rocky when a childhood friend and former boxing prodigy turns up out of the blue. That friend is Anderson Dame, played by Jonathan Majors.

To mark the release of Creed III‘s first trailer, Jordan attended a press conference and gave invited media a breakdown of what’s in store for audiences and fans. Here are a few of the highlights.

On getting behind the camera

It was the perfect time. Growing up on set, starting out doing background work, and seeing everybody’s jobs, I finally got to this place in my career where I wanted to tell the story and not just be in front of the camera and execute somebody else’s vision. Having a character that I’ve played twice before, it’s been seven or eight years living with this guy; I’m able to tell the story of where I believe Adonis is at. At 35 years old, I had a lot to say as a young black man, through my life experiences and how I could share a piece of myself with the world through these characters and the story. I just felt like it was the right time. I was talking to Ryan Coogler back when we were doing creative, and he was just like, ‘It’s never the right time. You’ve just got to jump in the deep end and go for it.’ He gave me a lot of encouragement.

The importance of representing the deaf community on screen

I think it was naturally the right evolution of the Creed family. Dealing with Bianca, Tessa Thompson’s character, since Creed and how that evolved to her becoming a mother and the possibility of our child being hard of hearing and ultimately being deaf, how the family evolves and grows, how do they deal with that obstacle and turn it into a superpower? It was a community of people that didn’t get true representation as much as they should have, and we use this as an opportunity to do that. Casting Mila Davis-Kent was amazing. She’s deaf, and learning ASL and normalizing it was a really big deal for us. Hopefully, in watching this movie, you feel it. We’re not trying to highlight it; we’re just normalizing it, which was really important for us throughout the story. We had incredible interpreters and resources that we leaned on to make sure we got it right. It was something that we took very seriously.

The movie’s key themes

Thematically, for us, family is always core, family, and heart. There’s a bit of having to face your past and find out who you really are, which we address in this movie. It’s also a homecoming, about remembering where you come from and settling debts. Being accountable for your actions is something that we wanted to look at as well. This movie has a lot of me in it and hopefully a lot of other people as well. I wanted to create a story where everybody felt like they could relate to something in this movie.

Directing himself

I’m a little sick, and I must have a problem because it’s low-key torture (laughs), but at the same time, it’s so much fun. The challenge of accomplishing the multitasking nature of it, developing a story, trying to stay in shape, giving all the departments what they need to do their job, and having my process as Adonis as well, it’s really hard to put in words. Every day was a struggle, but you’ve got to surround yourself with the right people so you can focus on the things you need to focus on. Sometimes that is doing two or three things at one time, but it’s part of the job. I used to see Ryan towards the end of production, and going into post, he would seem a little run down, a little tired, and I’d have a little more pep in my step, more energy. I didn’t have nearly the workload they did, and I empathize with them now. I was like, ‘It’s okay, man, I get it. I get it.’ I did not get anything. I had no idea.

Jonathan Majors: On set wingman and on-screen bad guy

We like to say antagonist (laughs). First of all, Jonathan Majors is incredible, and I’m very blessed and lucky to have him be a part of this story. Having him as that running mate and scene partner made all the difference in the world. He’s extremely talented. The world is finding out daily how incredible this man is in the work that he does, and he’s finally getting the props that are due. He showed up every day ready to go to war. Me and him bonded in a way that I never had an opportunity to. It’s my first time directing, and I understand the relationship between the director and the actor now. It’s a bond that lasts forever. Having that gentleman by my side as I went through this process was extremely helpful.

Why Creed III takes place a few years after the last movie

I think it was important to get to a pivotal point in Adonis’ career. You’ve seen them fall in love and create life and a family together, and I wanted to get to the next stage and crossroads of life and experience as young adults dealing with professional careers and family and the choices that come along with that. I think it was a reflection of where I was in my life professionally and personally, and I have a lot to say around that, so I figured I’d progress things there.

His preparation and the challenges he faced

During lockdown and quarantine, which is where a lot of this production and prep was going on, this was my escape a lot of times. I was diving in and creating this story. Mentally for me, there was nothing I could do to prepare myself. Everything I thought I was doing was not enough. I think meditation was really important for me. I was also talking to a lot of directors who have been through this, which gave me as close an idea about what the experience was going to be without going through it myself. I leaned on those conversations. I had just finished working with Denzel Washington right before this project, so I had that wisdom and support that helped me a lot during prep. Mentally for me, it was just taking it a day at a time, but at the same time, it was ten steps ahead. It was whatever I could do in the moment to feel better and help prepare myself.

On the art of the training montage

Get anything and everything you can (laughs), every push-up, and every speed bag moment. In the montage you’re asking, ‘What are the stakes?’ How is your character leaving the montage better than he was when you first started? I think that’s a good one to stick to.

Creed III opens in theaters everywhere on Friday, March 3, 2023