When we heard that yet another Rocky movie was on the way following 2006’s Rocky Balboa, we were a little hesitant to get too excited about the return of this most beloved of franchises. But wow, 2015’s Creed was pretty damn good, right? In fact, the picture was a stunning movie that ticked off a whole host of boxes for longtime Rocky fans while similarly veering the franchise off in a fresh new direction. And now, that film’s sequel – Creed II – has found one of its main players.
As per Tracking Board, Romanian boxer Florian “Big Nasty” Munteanu has been cast as Ivan Drago’s son in the film. We’d previously known that Dolph Lundgren would be reprising his Rocky IV role for Creed II, and we’d even known that Drago’s son would be featured as an opponent for Michael B. Jordan’s Adonis Creed. Well now we know who’ll be playing the son of Drago.
Sylvester Stallone himself has taken to Instagram to congratulate Munteanu on landing the role:
Interestingly, it’s believed that Johnson’s Creed will actually be involved in an intense and brutal fight with the iconic Ivan Drago before then tackling Drago’s son. If you remember, of course, it was Ivan Drago who was responsible for killing Adonis’ father Apollo in Rocky IV. As such, expect plenty of angst from Adonis as he comes face to face with the man responsible for his pops’ death.
Creed director Ryan Coogler was originally hopeful of returning to direct Creed II, but commitments on next month’s Black Panther – which actually features Michael B. Jordan – put a stop to that. Similarly, he’s also signed on to direct Jordan in Atlanta school drama Wrong Answer. Instead, The Land’s Steven Caple Jr. is in the director’s chair for the Creed follow-up.
At present, Creed II is set to start production in March ahead of a November 21st, 2018 release.
