‘Creed’ Sequel Finds Director, Tessa Thompson to Return

Indie director Steven Caple Jr. will helm the sequel to Rocky spinoff Creed.

MGM and Warner Bros. are readying the follow-up with Sylvester Stallone and Michael B. Jordan set to return, along with Tessa Thompson, who will reprise her roll as Bianca, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.

Ryan Coogler directed the 2015 Rocky franchise update, which saw the aging boxer train Adonis Creed, the son of his one-time rival Apollo Creed. Coogler, who is finishing up his work on Marvel’s Black Panther, is expected to executive produce. 

Luke Cage showrunner Cheo Hodari Coker penned the feature with Stallone, which will follow Adonis as he tries to navigate his newfound fame. Stallone had been planning on directing, and said in October that he would be helming the project. 

Irwin Winkler, Charles Winkler, William Chartoff, David Winkler and Kevin King-Templeton are set to produce, with Jordan and Guy Riedel executive producing.

Caple comes from the world of independent filmmaking — he is the writer-director of the 2016 Sundance drama The Land, which follows a group of kids in inner-city Cleveland. Caple is making the same indie-to-studio jump that Coogler previously made, having been tapped to direct Creed after his feature directorial debut, the critically acclaimed Fruitvale Station (2013).

Caple’s other credits include the upcoming Freeform series Grown-ish and the Will Smith-backed Emmett Till project, which is being developed at HBO. He is repped by WME, Untitled and Hansen Jacobson.  

The Creed sequel is set to hit theaters Nov. 21, 2018, with MGM handling domestic distribution and Warner Bros. handling international.

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