The Rocky movies and their spin-off franchise, Creed, have a theme of overcoming athletic adversity. They’re about athletes, on this case, boxers, achieving the seemingly not possible while concurrently working themselves into the most effective possible competitive shape. Next 12 months, there’ll be one other tale with two Hollywood actors living as much as that mandate again contained in the ring.
On Oct. 17, 2022, actor Michael B. Jordan shared two teaser posters for the upcoming boxing epic Creed III on his Instagram profile. The teasers feature Jordan — who plays fictional superstar boxer Adonis Creed — and his co-star, Jonathan Majors — playing a recent opposing character, Damian “Dame” Anderson — sitting within the corner of a boxing ring. Each actors exhibit massive shoulders and arms and shredded upper-body masses. The reveals coincide with the announcement of the film’s official release date on Mar. 3, 2023.
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Based on Variety, Creed III will probably be Jordan’s directorial debut. The 35-year-old actor is reprising one among the more famous roles of his profession, where many sequences within the previous iterations feature him rigorously training his cardio, upper body, and general high-level conditioning. (Note: Per IMDB, Jordan can count on other acclaimed lead credits in movies like 2013’s Fruitvale Station and 2018’s Black Panther.)
Meanwhile, Majors joins the Creed franchise as a rising star in cinema. The 33-year-old actor might need first risen to prominence with a component in 2019’s The Last Black Man in San Francisco. He has since been notably featured in Spike Lee’s Da 5 Bloods from 2020 and 2021 spaghetti western The Harder They Fall. Majors will probably be the subsequent lead antagonist, Kang the Conqueror, within the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
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In a recent Men’s Health profile, Majors makes it clear that he prioritizes his fitness no matter his upcoming role in a movie.
“If I’m going to bench press 250 [pounds] in a movie, I would like to find a way to bench press 275 [pounds] a couple of times,” Majors tells Men’s Health initially before walking back his initial sentiment: “305 [pounds] a couple of times.”
Majors appears to have applied the identical thought process in preparation for Creed III. He reportedly didn’t appreciate being handed “fake weights” while filming a scene.
“I’ll do that all day — We usually are not putting fake weights on,” said Majors, explaining his rationale to Men’s Health. “I haven’t been training for the past three months to get here and use Styrofoam. “Put these [expletive] weights on so we are able to lift it, so you possibly can shoot it, so I can tell the story. Respectfully, anything less is like putting fake tears in your eyes. Or putting fake sweat on you.”
It’ll be a little bit while before anyone sees Jordan and Majors presumptively square off in Creed III. Nevertheless, for 2 actors seemingly committed to prioritizing their fitness as professionals, it ought to be quite the battle between the ropes come March 2023.
Featured image: @michaelbjordan on Instagram