TheRockyandCreedfranchises have gone on to surpass presumably all the hopes its creative minds ever envisioned. Spanning nearly ten movies, both franchises have covered the amateur beginnings of Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) to the glittering heights of being world champion forMichael B. Jordan’s Adonis Creed. Over the course of their lengthy runs, both fighters have come across a number of formidable foes in the ring, and for Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) and Rocky, one of their most fearsome opponents was the Soviet boxer, Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren). TheRockyandCreedfranchises have a way of seamlessly weaving family ties into its storyline, and its next spinoff,Drago, leans into that narrative.
In the aftermath of Drago’s loss to Rocky in the 1985 sequel,Rocky IV, the boxer reemerges in Creed II, with his son, Viktor (Florain Munteanu) as a potential opponent for Rocky’s pupil and Apollo’s son, Jordan’s Adonis. Fresh off portrayinga menacing Byzantine generalin the final season of Netflix’s historical drama,Vikings: Valhalla, Munteanu has offered an update regarding theDragospinoff. In a conversation withScreen Rant, the actor reveals that he and his onscreen father, Lundgren, have been developing the story for a while now. While the pair await feedback from key figures in the production process, they arehopeful for a 2025 filming start. Munteanu’s comments on the matter reads:
“I’m the most excited about it. We have worked for a couple of years now on this project. I can confidently say that we’re in a very good place right now. I think me and Dolph are very happy with where we are at right now. It’s just a lot of people have to make decisions here, and we have to find a compromise.
The tone of that movie has to be slightly darker than what we have seen in Creed just because those characters come from a different world, different environment, different upbringing. So we want to stay true to what the characters are, keep the essence of what the characters are. But we are in a very good place. Hopefully next year, we’re going to hear more about what’s going to happen.”
There Are More Fights To Come
Should theDragosoinoff eventually make it to screens, it will be part ofan ever expanding catalog of productionsfor films linked to theRockyandCreedfranchises. In the aftermath of directing his first film inCreed III, franchise star, Jordan, is inclined to return forCreed IV.Creed IIIwas botha commercial and a critical success, and there areplans for another sequel, with producerIrwin Winklersaying late last year, “We’re planning to doCreed IVright now, and we have a really good story, really good plot,”
No further details are available currently forDragoandCreed IV. Stay tuned to Collider for updates. In the meantime, you can streamCreed IIIon Prime Video.
