According to Deadline (opens in new tab), the production of a new Rocky spin-off is already underway, while the release of Creed 3 has been pushed back to the spring of 2023. Deadline reports that the upcoming spin-off, dubbed Drago, will revolve around the Russian boxer of the same name, portrayed by Dolph Lundgren, and his son Viktor. The narrative specifics are being kept under wraps, but Deadline adds that the spin-off will focus on the father and son duo (Florian Munteanu).
Robert Lawton, a screenwriter who worked on the spec script for the documentary Becoming Rocky, which will be released in 2020, has been tapped to create the spin-off. Ivan Drago was played by Dolph Lundgren for the first time in the 1985 film Rocky 4, and he also featured in the 2018 film Creed 2 alongside his son, who played the role of Adonis Creed’s new opponent. Rocky 4 was released in 1985. During the fight shown in Rocky 4, Drago Sr. is the one who is responsible for the death of Apollo Creed, Donnie’s father. Creed 3, meantime, was scheduled to arrive in theatres on November 23, 2022, but this release date has been moved back to March 3, 2023.
Creed 3 will now be released on March 3, 2023. Michael B. Jordan, who plays Adonis Creed in the series, will make his debut as a director with the third edition of the Creed film franchise. In addition, Jonathan Majors will be joining the ensemble as a new adversary for Creed.
Tessa Thompson, Phylicia Rashad, and Wood Harris will all be back for round three of the Creed franchise, but this will be the first Creed film that does not feature an appearance from Rocky Balboa himself, who is played by Sylvester Stallone in the previous movies in the series. The threequel will be released in November 2015.