Creed II

Creed II is an upcoming American sports drama film directed by Steven Caple Jr., and written by Sylvester Stallone and Cheo Hodari Coker. A sequel to Creed (2015) and the eighth installment in the Rocky film series, it stars Michael B. Jordan, Stallone, Tessa Thompson, Dolph Lundgren, Florian Munteanu, Phylicia Rashad, Andre Ward, Wood Harris, and Brigitte Nielsen. Creed writer-director Ryan Coogler serves as an executive producer on the film.

The film follows Adonis Creed training in order to defeat the son of Ivan Drago, the powerful athlete who killed his father in the ring more than 30 years prior. It will be released in the United States on November 21, 2018.

Plot
Life has become a balancing act for Adonis Creed. Between personal obligations and training for his next big fight, he is up against the challenge of his life. Facing an opponent with ties to his family's past only intensifies his impending battle in the ring. Rocky Balboa is there by his side through it all and, together, Rocky and Adonis will confront their shared legacy, question what is worth fighting for, and discover that nothing is more important than family.

Cast

 * Main article: List of Rocky characters


 * Michael B. Jordan as Adonis "Donnie" Creed: An underdog but talented light heavyweight boxer and the son of world heavyweight champion Apollo Creed. He goes by the name Donnie Johnson.
 * Sylvester Stallone as Robert "Rocky" Balboa, Sr.: A two-time world heavyweight champion and Apollo's rival-turned-friend who becomes Adonis' trainer and mentor. He owns and operates an Italian restaurant in Philadelphia named after his deceased wife, Adrian.
 * Tessa Thompson as Bianca Porter: Adonis’s girlfriend who is a singer-songwriter with progressive hearing loss.
 * Dolph Lundgren as Ivan Drago: Russia's former prize champion boxer, who with the secret use of steroids and advanced training, gained worldwide attention due to his brute strength that had not been seen before. Years prior, he killed Apollo Creed during an exhibition boxing match, and was later defeated by Rocky.
 * Florian Munteanu as Viktor Drago: Drago's son who is also a boxer, and Adonis’ new rival.
 * Phylicia Rashad as Mary Anne Creed: Apollo's widow and Adonis' stepmother, who takes in Adonis as a child following the death of Adonis' biological mother.
 * Andre Ward as Danny "Stuntman" Wheeler: A light heavyweight boxer.
 * Wood Harris as Tony "Little Duke" Evers: One of Wheeler's assistant trainers. His father, Tony "Duke" Evers, was a father-figure for Apollo as well as his trainer/manager when Apollo became world heavyweight champion. He then became one of Rocky's trainers after Apollo's death.
 * Brigitte Nielsen as Ludmila Drago: Ivan's wife and Viktor's mother..
 * Russell Hornsby as Buddy Marcelle
 * Michael Buffer as himself
 * Evander Holyfield as himself
 * Sugar Ray Leonard as himself

Pre-production
On January 5, 2016, Sylvester Stallone and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures' CEO Gary Barber confirmed to Variety that a sequel to Creed was in development. The same month, Stallone posed the possibility of seeing Milo Ventimiglia appear in the sequel, reprising his role as Rocky's son Robert Balboa from Rocky Balboa. Ventimiglia previously revealed during the development of Creed that he was open to returning to the franchise, stating, "I'll tell you what, if they invited me, I'd love to be there. If they didn't, I wouldn't be offended." On January 11, 2016, Barber revealed that Ryan Coogler would not be returning due to scheduling conflicts, because he was attached to Black Panther, though he would return as executive producer. Michael B. Jordan's schedule ended up being delayed due to Black Panther, as he was starring in that film. In July 2017, Stallone confirmed that he had completed the script for the sequel, and also revealed that Ivan Drago would be featured in the film. In October 2017, it was announced that Stallone would direct and produce the film. However, in December 2017, it was reported that Steven Caple Jr. would instead direct the film with Tessa Thompson confirmed to reprise her role of Bianca, Creed's love interest. In January 2018, Romanian boxer and kickboxer Florian Munteanu was cast in the film to play Drago's son with Dolph Lundgren set to reprise his role of Drago. In March 2018, Russell Hornsby joined the cast while Phylicia Rashad, Wood Harris, and Andre Ward were confirmed to reprise their roles from the prior film.

Filming
Principal photography began in March 2018. Filming occurred in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the city's Port Richmond neighborhood, and was completed on June 7, 2018.

Release
Creed II is scheduled in the United States to be released on November 21, 2018.