| Creed II | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Steven Caple Jr. |
| Screenplay by | |
| Story by |
|
| Based on | Characters by Sylvester Stallone |
| Produced by |
|
| Starring |
|
| Cinematography | Kramer Morgenthau |
| Edited by |
|
| Music by | Ludwig Göransson |
Production companies |
|
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 130 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $50 million[2] |
| Box office | $214.1 million[3] |
Creed II is a 2018 American sports drama film directed by Steven Caple Jr. from a screenplay by Juel Taylor and Sylvester Stallone. It is the sequel to Creed (2015) and the eighth installment in the Rocky film series. It stars Michael B. Jordan, Stallone, Tessa Thompson, Wood Harris, Phylicia Rashad, Florian Munteanu, and Dolph Lundgren. In the film, under the continued tutelage of Rocky Balboa (Stallone), Adonis Creed (Jordan) faces off against Viktor Drago (Munteanu), the son of Ivan Drago (Lundgren), who became responsible for the death of Adonis' father Apollo Creed in Rocky IV (1985).
A Creed sequel was confirmed in January 2016, but was delayed because Creed director Ryan Coogler and Jordan faced scheduling conflicts due to their involvement in Black Panther (2018). Coogler was originally replaced by Stallone, who completed the screenplay by July 2017, but he was replaced by Caple that December, with Coogler instead serving as an executive producer. The rest of the cast, including the returns of Thompson, Rashad, and Lundgren, was confirmed by March 2018. Principal photography lasted from March to June, primarily on location in Philadelphia.
Creed II premiered on November 14, 2018, at the Lincoln Center in New York City and was released in the United States by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Warner Bros. Pictures on November 21. The film received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised the performances (particularly those of Stallone, Jordan, and Lundgren), character development, and Caple's direction, while noting its predictability.[4] It was also a commercial success, grossing $214 million worldwide.
The sequel, Creed III, directed by Jordan in his directorial debut,[5] was released March 3, 2023.
- ^ "Creed II (12A)". British Board of Film Classification. November 14, 2018. Retrieved November 21, 2018.
- ^ Sharf, Zack (September 27, 2018). "'Creed II' Director Steven Caple Jr. on Ryan Coogler's Advice and Directing a 'Rocky' Film After a Low-Budget Indie – Exclusive". IndieWire. Retrieved November 22, 2018.
- ^ "Creed II (2018)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
- ^ Campbell, Christopher (November 18, 2018). "Creed II First Reviews: A Solid, if Predictable, Sequel". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved November 16, 2018.
- ^ "Creed 3 Will Be Directed by Michael B. Jordan, Confirms Tessa Thompson". Screen Rant. December 29, 2020. Retrieved December 29, 2020.