Michael B. Jordan isn\u2019t a name that\u2019s too familiar yet, even if he did give one of the best performances of 2013 in Fruitvale Station<\/i>. Well, Jordan\u2019s role as Oscar Grant led him to take up many big budget offers, including the Rocky<\/i> spinoff, Creed<\/i>. Yes, Jordan will be playing Apollo Creed\u2019s grandson in an upcoming film that will be directed by none other than Fruitvale Station<\/i>\u2019s Ryan Coogler.<\/p>\n
Sylvester Stallone will be reprising his role as the iconic Rocky Balboa\u2014who went toe-to-toe with Carl Weathers as Apollo Creed\u2014serving as the trainer for the prizefighter. Jordan is a more than capable actor for the role, and has experience playing an athlete, as he\u2019s proven in the television series Friday Night Lights <\/i>where he played quarterback Vince Howard.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got Sylvester Stallone coming back as Rocky Balboa, which is a really big deal to get his approval and permission to take this franchise into another direction. I\u2019m excited. Carl Weathers, his Apollo Creed is such an iconic character. To be able to play his grandson and start boxing training and get into the mind state of a fighter, I\u2019m really excited about it,\u201d Jordan told Chris Strauss of For the Win<\/a>.<\/p>\n Sure, it\u2019s another film that\u2019s riding off the success of a classic; however, if it\u2019s done right, Rocky<\/em> fans and film heads should be satisfied regardless. Jordan is a very talented young actor who has shown that he\u2019s capable of being a leading man. Coogler in the director\u2019s chair is another good sign for this film, and of course Stallone\u2019s participation and blessing can\u2019t hurt either. If a sequel or prequel is going to happen for any film, it needs to be done with just as much care as an original idea. Coogler is a hungry director, and this is his second outing with the equally hungry Jordan, so the film is in good hands. This may be the film that gets both of them on the path to the A-list.<\/p>\n The Jordan-Coogler duo is definitely a plus for this film, but do we really want a Creed<\/em> film in the first place? I suppose it isn\u2019t something that\u2019s been anticipated, but it does beat the idea of another Rocky-centered \u00a0film. The challenge in this movie is to make it about Creed\u2019s grandson and have Rocky in a supporting role, and it\u2019s up to Jordan to outshine Stallone in his own franchise. There will also be some real boxing talent in the film to add authenticity, as the current WBA super middleweight champion Andrew Ward will be participating, alongside heavyweight Tony Bellew.<\/p>\n If anything, the world will be more aware of another talented Jordan to look out for with the release of this film. At the end of the day, boxing\u2019s a captivating metaphor for life, and people should respond if the cards are played correctly. The biggest question: will Creed\u2019s grandson sport the American flag boxing trunks? We wait in anticipation for the answer that will tame our hunger.<\/p>\n In the meantime, check out Fruitvale Station<\/em>.<\/p>\n