Sylvester Stallone recently unveiled on social media the first poster for his upcoming sports drama sequel, Creed 2 . The image highlighted the next generation of boxers within the movie franchise, with Apollo’s son Adonis Creed, played by Michael B. Jordan, going against a new opponent that will be played by Romanian heavyweight boxer Florian Munteanu. The poster also shows Stallone’s Rocky Balboa character standing beside his longtime rival, Ivan Drago. Drago, who was played by Dolph Lundgren, was Balboa’s main rival in the fourth Rocky movie, which debuted in 1985. While Stallone had mentioned in the caption that the poster was “not official,” some fans believe that it still may have revealed the main plot for the upcoming sequel.
According to a report from Lad Bible , Lundgren’s character will apparently be returning to the United States with his son to face off against Balboa’s newly trained fighter. The upcoming movie’s official synopsis also hinted that revenge was on the menu for Adonis Creed , who is now actively seeking to fight the man that killed his father. Creed’s father was killed by Drago in the fourth Rocky movie when he came out of retirement to challenge the Russian Olympic gold medalist in an exhibition match. The older Creed was killed inside the ring after Balboa decided against throwing in the towel to end the fight. Most fans had initially speculated that Creed may be going against Drago himself, but the poster has now revealed that he will be facing his son instead.
Lundgren also expressed his excitement for the upcoming movie by posting a video on Instagram that showed him working out to get back in shape. The 60-year-old actor is reportedly expected to showcase some of his boxing prowess and current physique in the upcoming movie. In an interview with TMZ Sports , Stallone even teased that he was going to punch Drago in the upcoming sequel. As for Munteanu, the Romanian boxer hasn’t had any previous experience in acting. However, standing at 6 foot 4 inches and weighing in at more than 245 pounds, Munteanu looks like he is a perfect fit for the role.
Stallone previously teased that some characters from the original Rocky films may be appearing in the next movie, which included the possible appearance of Milo Ventimiglia. In a surprising twist, Ventimiglia was nowhere to be found on the newly unveiled poster. Ventimiglia, who played the role of Rocky’s son Robert Balboa, appeared in the sixth Rocky installment, which was released in 2006.
Creed 2 is scheduled to hit theaters in November this year. Steven Caple Jr. took over directorial duties from Ryan Coogler, who had directed the first reboot.