Rocky Wiki
Register
Advertisement

Creed III is an American sports drama film that released in theaters on March 3, 2023, and digitally on March 31, 2023. It is directed by Michael B. Jordan, from a screenplay written by Keenan Coogler and Zach Baylin, and based on the story written by Ryan Coogler. This film stars Jordan, Tessa Thompson, Phylicia Rashad, and Jonathan Majors.

Creed III is marked as the third instalment of the Creed series and the overall ninth instalment of the Rocky franchise.

Plot[]

In 2002 Los Angeles, a young Adonis "Donnie" Creed sneaks out with his best friend, Golden Gloves champion Damian Anderson, to watch Damian compete in an underground boxing match. After Damian’s victory, Damian tells Donnie about his aspirations to turn professional and become a world champion. While Damian and Donnie stop at a liquor store, Donnie impulsively attacks a man named Leon.

15 years later in South Africa, Donnie fights and wins in a rematch against "Pretty" Ricky Conlan, who just got released from his prison sentence and worked his way back to be a contender for a championship fight. Donnie then retires from boxing to focus on his wife Bianca and their daughter Amara. Three years later, Donnie runs Delphi Boxing Academy with his coach Tony "Little Duke" Evers Jr., and is promoting his protégé, world champion Felix "El Guerrero" Chavez, in a match against Viktor Drago. Due to her hearing problems, Bianca stops performing and becomes a successful producer. The two keep watch over the declining health of Donnie's adoptive mother Mary Anne. Amara wishes to be a boxer like her father, which gets her into trouble in school. Donnie decides to secretly train Amara.

Damian is released from prison and reconnects with Donnie, to whom he shares his desires to continue his boxing career. Donnie reluctantly invites Damian to the gym to spar with Chavez. However, his aggressive style draws scorn from Chavez and Duke. Damian later visits Donnie's home, where he meets his family and shares about their time together at a group home, which Bianca has never known of. Privately, Damian expresses his desire for a title shot against Chavez, citing Donnie's previous one-in-a-million shot, which Donnie refuses.

At a party for Bianca's record label, Damian cryptically tells Bianca about Leon before Drago is attacked by an unknown assailant; his injury casts doubt on his fight with Chavez. While considering opponents like Ortiz and Leo Sporino, Donnie suggests Damian as an opponent, pitching an underdog fight much like Rocky Balboa's first title shot, which Chavez first doesn’t like, but then accepts. During the fight, Damian fights dirty, striking Chavez’s arm multiple times. Damian brutally knocks out Chavez, winning the undisputed heavyweight championship.

After the match, an uneasy Donnie visits Mary Anne, who shows him letters Damian wrote to Donnie while in prison that she kept from him due to believing he was a bad influence. One letter contains a picture showing Dame with a fellow inmate that Donnie recognizes as the one who assaulted Drago. Realizing Damian orchestrated the attack, Donnie confronts him. Damian reveals that he manipulated all their encounters to set him up as a champion to enact revenge for Donnie abandoning him during his arrest and jail time. Damian threatens Donnie, saying he’s coming for everything before giving him a black eye. Donnie is unable to open up to Bianca about his guilt over Damian, who revels in his newfound fame and publicly slanders Donnie as a fraud who turned his back on him.

Mary Anne suffers another stroke and dies. After the funeral, Donnie confesses to Bianca the truth: Leon was the abusive caregiver in the group home Damian and Donnie lived in before Donnie was adopted by Mary Anne. After Donnie attacked Leon at the liquor store, a brawl against Leon's friends ensued causing Damian to pull a gun. As cops arrived, Donnie fled, but Damian was arrested. Attempting to block out the memory, Donnie never contacted Damian out of shame and guilt. Bianca claims it wasn’t his fault, as it was Damian’s action. Knowing Damian would not stop defaming him, he tells Bianca there's only one way to bring him down.

Donnie goes on First Take claiming he walked away from boxing with some unfinished business. Damian calls in to provoke Donnie over the phone, calling him a coward and a fraud, and claiming that Apollo Creed would be ashamed. Donnie decides to come out of retirement and challenges Damian for the championship, which he accepts. Donnie struggles with training after three years of retirement, but comes back to with the help of Duke and a recovered Drago. Donnie faces Dame in the "Battle of Los Angeles" at Dodger Stadium. Donnie faces Damian in a grueling, evenly matched affair. In the final round, Donnie uses Duke's advice to let go of his fear and guilt and takes advantage of Damian's drained energy, delivering a knockout to win the match and the championship. Afterwards, Donnie reconciles with Damian, with both men admitting it was not the other's fault. Donnie joins Bianca and Amara in the ring in the empty stadium, where he pretends to box with Amara. They then decide to go home, with Donnie overlooking the ring.

Cast[]

Trivia[]

  • This will be the first film in the franchise that will not feature Rocky Balboa, although his actor, Sylvester Stallone, serves as a producer of the film.
  • This film marks the directorial debut of Michael B. Jordan.
  • There was speculation that Deontay Wilder would portray Clubber Lang's son in the film, but this rumor does not appear to have come to fruition.
Advertisement