Michael B. Jordan also stars in the film, the ninth installment in the ‘Rocky’ series.eli ade
Michael B. Jordan has built a stellar career as an actor, but he has long wanted to tell a story from behind the camera, and not just while starring in someone else’s vision. The upcoming movie “Creed III” provided him the template to do both.
“Everything just lined up perfectly for this opportunity for me,” he said.
This was no easy task for Jordan.
“It’s one of those things where you — I’m a little sick. I must have a problem. Because it was low-key torture,” he said. “But at the same time, it’s so much fun, the challenge of accomplishing it all.”
During a virtual media event hosted by Andscape writer Kelley L. Carter last week, Jordan called “Creed III” the biggest challenge of his career. The film, which hits theaters March 3 and saw its first trailer drop last week, is the 35-year-old’s directorial debut after the series’ first two installments were directed by Ryan Coogler and Steven Caple Jr. in 2015 and 2018, respectively. The ninth film in the “Rocky” franchise, “Creed III” is the first without Sylvester Stallone reprising his role as Rocky Balboa and centers around Adonis Creed’s faceoff with a childhood friend and former boxing prodigy.
Jordan, who plays the titular character, said his experience pulling double duty on the film gave him newfound respect for Coogler and Caple Jr. He recalled seeing them run down toward the end of production on each of the previous films, and “I would empathize with them,” Jordan said. “Like, ‘It’s OK, man. I get it. I get it.’” Jordan then paused before smiling: “I did not get anything. I had no idea. It’s only now I can really look at them eye to eye and be like, ‘You know what? I get it. I understand.’”
Jordan leaned on meditation as an important part of his process before and during the film’s production, he said. He also talked with others in the industry who belong to the small fraternity of actors who have starred in pieces they’ve also directed, like Denzel Washington, who in 2016 directed and acted in “Fences.” Washington recently directed Jordan in 2021’s “A Journal for Jordan.”
“So I had his wisdom and support,” Jordan said. “It really helped me out a lot during prep.”
Jordan’s familiarity with the “Creed” films — from being “shorthand” with a good chunk of the cast and crew, to “living with” the character for seven years now — played a big part in his thinking that this was the right avenue for his directorial debut. He explained it was the natural progression of a career that has spanned more than two decades. Jordan’s first credited role was as an extra on “The Sopranos” in 1999, and he has gone on to acclaim and success on TV shows including HBO’s “The Wire” and films such as “Fruitvale Station” and “Black Panther.”
“I had a lot to say as a young Black man, my life experiences, and how I could actually share a piece of myself with the world through these characters and through the story,” he said. “I just felt like it was the right time.”
