March 3rd marks the release of Michael B. Jordan‘s directorial debut, Creed III. In light of the upcoming drop of his new film, Jordan reflected on his relationship with his co-star Jonathan Majors, themes that the movie plays with, and the future of the “Creedverse.” In an exclusive with Extra, the “Just Mercy” star noted his switch to working behind the camera. “I’ve been in a director mode for such a long time and it feels good to empower, support, you know, give flowers to my actors right now,” he told the outlet.
As the third installment of the Creed series, Jordan’s film continues to follow the life of boxer Adonis Creed. Alongside directing the film, the 36-year-old stars as Adonis whose character receives a fighting challenge from his childhood friend, Damian Anderson (played by Majors). Jordan reflected on portraying a rivalry with Majors on-screen, despite the duo sharing a strong bond in real life. “Jonathan is an incredible human,” he told the outlet. “We built everything together, you know?” Jordan explained further, “especially in the beginning we went through, you know, hell months, not even hell week, hell months… of training together, learning the choreo together, it’s very, very intimate, you know, and he’s a hard worker, I am as well. So when it comes to, you know, the physicality element, we pushed each other.”
Michael B. Jordan Makes His Directorial Debut With “Creed III”
As the man behind Creed III, Jordan also revealed the themes that he had played with within the film. Specifically, he battled with toxic masculinity stereotypes and wanted to emphasize the importance of vulnerability. While describing his goal of portraying the more emotional side of Adonis, Jordan explained how he and the movie’s writers found an “organic” way to do it. “I think that was something that started to reveal itself as we were trying to challenge Adonis and just talk about what will somebody like him be going through right now in today’s like climate,” he shared.
When questioned about the future of the Creed trilogy, Jordan explained how future opportunities are vast. “There are so many different platforms where these stories can be told, you know,” he told the outlet, “whether it’s a spin-off of the TV show, whether it’s you know the animation or graphic novel or a video game.” For more news on pop culture and hip-hop, don’t miss out on HNHH.