Creed 2: Stallone Teases Rocky IV Connection

CBR

By Anthony Couto

Published Jul 4, 2017

Sylvester Stallone hints at the possibility of revisiting elements from Rocky IV in the follow-up to Ryan Coogler's Creed.

Could the Creed sequel follow in the footsteps of Rocky IV and head back to the U.S.S.R.? It seems that's what Sylvester Stallone wants us to think.

Stallone has been sharing several images from the fourth Rocky film on his Instagram as of late, and most recently posted an image of Michael B. Jordan's Adonis Creed superimposed in a ring with Dolph Lundgren's Ivan Drago. Stallone's Rocky Balboa can be seen in the background. The post includes the following caption: “HISTORY WILL ALWAYS REPEAT ITSELF IN ONE FORM OR ANOTHER, JUST GOT TO BE READY! … Sins of the Father…. #creed2.” Check it out below.

In the fourth Rocky epic, Drago kills Adonis' dad, Apollo Creed, leaving Adonis fatherless. By the looks of the Instagram post, Drago could factor into the plot of Creed 2 in some form.

Last we heard about Creed 2, Stallone suggested we could see the return of Carl Weathers as Apollo Creed -- somehow, even though the character is dead in Rocky continuity. Stallone said director Ryan Coogler “has some ideas of going forward and backward and actually seeing Rocky and Apollo together.” “Think of ‘The Godfather 2,” he teased. “That’s what he was thinking of, which was kind of ambitious.”

As for the involvement of Coogler on the Creed sequel, his role is still up in the air. “I know Ryan is probably going to be gone for a couple years,” Stallone conceded last year. “So there will be a quandary on: Do we work with another director and have Ryan produce, or do we wait? There’s a diminishing time acceptance of a sequel. Now they are cranking them out in a year.”

Having released in 2015, the seventh Rocky film raked in $173,567,581 at the box office on a reported $35 million production budget -- $109,767,581 of that total came from the domestic box office, while an additional $63.8 million came from overseas markets. Also critically acclaimed, the film garnered Academy Award nominations for Stallone, and earned the actor a Golden Globe Award.

The Creed sequel is currently slated for 2018, but considering the film has yet to secure a director, that date is likely to change.