Creed III Poster Teases Michael B. Jordan’s Return & IMAX Release

The latest poster for the upcoming boxing drama, Creed III, teases Michael B. Jordan’s return to the ring. A return that audiences will be able to watch in partnership with IMAX. Released courtesy of IMAX, the poster finds Jordan’s boxer Adonis Creed looking as determined as ever as he slips on the gloves to fight for his legacy.

Creed III picks up five years after the events of Creed II and, after dominating the boxing world, Adonis “Donnie” Creed has since been thriving in both his career and family life. But when a childhood friend and former boxing prodigy, Damian “Dame” Anderson, resurfaces after serving a long sentence in prison, he is eager to prove that he deserves his shot in the ring. The face-off between former friends is more than just a fight. To settle the score, Donnie must put his future on the line to battle Dame – a fighter with nothing to lose.

The Creed threequel will be the first outing in the franchise not to feature Sylvester Stallone as cinematic icon Rocky Balboa. Stallone ultimately decided not to reprise the role of Rocky due to Creed III being “taken in a direction that is quite different than I would’ve taken it. It’s a different philosophy – Irwin Winkler’s and Michael B. Jordan’s. I wish them well, but I’m much more of a sentimentalist. I like my heroes getting beat up, but I just don’t want them going into that dark space. I just feel people have enough darkness.”

While Rocky will not be involved physically, Jordan has assured fans that Creed III will retain the spirit of The Italian Stallion. “It’s really diving into the Creed universe and having him evolve, start his own family and go through his own trials and tribulations in life,” Jordan said, as he aims to carve out a separate legacy for Creed. “It’s allowed Adonis to stand on his own two feet and use the wisdom he’s learned from Rocky in the other two films. I think it’s in the spirit of Rocky, whose fingerprints will always and forever be on this franchise. The essence of him is still there. But at the same time, the Creed franchise is moving in a strong direction.”

And what a legacy it will be should Jordan get his way. The actor and director recently declared that plans for a further sequel Creed 4, are happening “for sure,” before revealing his hopes for spinoffs and the birth of the Creed-verse. “I just want to expand the Creed-verse within reason, but definitely expect other things around Creed for sure.”

Creed III is directed by Michael B. Jordan, in his feature film debut, with a screenplay by Keenan Coogler and Zach Baylin from a story they co-wrote with Ryan Coogler. The sequel stars Michael B. Jordan, Jonathan Majors, Tessa Thompson, Phylicia Rashad, Wood Harris, and Creed 2 star Florian Munteanu, as well as Selenis Leyva, Thaddeus J. Mixson, Spence Moore II, Mila Davis-Kent, and Canelo Álvarez.

Creed III is scheduled to be released in the United States on March 3, 2023.