History Film / CreedIII

Jordan returns as Adonis "Donnie" Creed while newcomer to the series Creator/JonathanMajors plays Damian. Creator/TessaThompson and Creator/FlorianMunteanu return as Biance Taylor and Viktor Drago respectively.

''Creed III'' is a 2023 sports drama film directed by Creator/MichaelBJordan in his [[DirectedByCastMember directorial debut]], and the third installment of the ''Franchise/{{Rocky}}'' SpinOff series ''Creed'', based on a story from Creator/RyanCoogler, who also directed the first film. It is also the first film in the ''Rocky'' universe not to feature Rocky Balboa himself, though Creator/SylvesterStallone is still attached as a producer.

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: When Damian elbows Felix in the face during the second round of their bout, the referee stops the fight and deducts two points from Damian's score, while also warning him that he will be disqualified if he commits any more fouls. With the only previous exception of Viktor Drago's disqualification in ''Creed II'', the other ''Rocky'' films have always been infamous for showing fighters [[ArtisticLicenseSports committing blatantly illegal moves with no repercussions]].

''Creed III'' is a 2023 sports drama film directed by Creator/MichaelBJordan in his [[DirectedByCastMember directorial debut]], and the third installment of the ''Franchise/{{Rocky}}'' spin-off series ''Creed'', based on a story from Creator/RyanCoogler, who also directed the first film. It is also the first film in the ''Rocky'' universe not to feature Rocky himself, though Creator/SylvesterStallone is still attached as a producer.

Set five years after [[Film/CreedII his fight against Viktor Drago,]] Adonis "Donnie" Creed has experienced great success in his professional and personal life. This stability is upended by the re-appearance of his former friend and boxing prodigy, Damian "Dame" Anderson, who is eager to prove himself in the ring after a long stint in prison. Donnie is forced to confront his past and his demons to settle the score with his former friend turned merciless rival.

The film was released on the 3rd of March, 2023.

** Damian compares Adonis in his retirement to Don King, which means that King exists in the same universe as [[Film/RockyV George Washington Duke]], who was heavily inspired by him.

** Amara gets into a fight with a bully, similar to Robert in ''Film/RockyV''. At the meeting with Adonis and Bianca, her teacher states that while Amara is a good student, she gets into fights, mirroring what the correctional officer had previously told Mary-Anne about Adonis himself in the first ''Film/{{Creed}}'' film.

** Early in the film, a bully rips Amara’s drawing. She bullied the daughter/granddaughter of ''2 former WBC World Heavyweight Champions''. [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown It doesn’t end well for her.]]

* RealitySubtext: While announcing his retirement from boxing, Donnie says that he's had his time in the sun, and it's time to pass the torch to the next generation. This was the first film in the Franchise/Rocky franchise not to feature Creator/SylvesterStallone, while also being the directorial debut for Creator/MichaelBJordan.

* WorfHadTheFlu: In-universe [[spoiler:Adonis beats "Pretty" Ricky Conlan in the beginning of the movie. Later, when Stephen Smith talks to Adonis on his show, he briefly mentions how some people thought Adonis was mainly able to beat Conlan since he was older and past his prime.]]

* AnachronismStew: During the film's first flashback in 2002, Donnie has both a [[Manga/MobileSuitGundamSEEDAstray Gundam Astray Red Frame]] model and a ''[[Anime/{{Naruto}} Naruto Shippuden]]'' poster in his room, despite ''Astray'' not starting its run until 2003 and ''Shippuden'' not airing until 2007.

* CombatPragmatist:Damien. Being arguably past his prime and fresh out of prison against younger and more skilled fighters, Damien often targets weak points, provokes people into making mistakes, and will hold absolutely nothing back. This trait [[spoiler:leads to his victory over Chavez.]]

''Creed III'' is a 2023 sports drama film directed by Creator/MichaelBJordan in his [[DirectedByCastMember directorial debut]], and the third installment of the ''Franchise/{{Rocky}}'' spin-off series ''Creed'', based on a story from Creator/RyanCoogler, who also directed the first film. It is also the first film in the ''Rocky'' universe not to feature Rocky himself, though Creator/SylvesterStallone is still on as a producer.

* PoliceAreUseless: During the flashback, when the cops arrive to stop the altercation outside the liquour store Leon and the cops show up to control the fracas, Adonis manages to run away without puts his hands up, and then just runs away without being pursued. Thankfully no PoliceBrutality occurs, as might be expected in such a scene, but a person of interest run from a crime scene is just poor police work.

** Young Adonis has posters of ''Anime/DragonBallZ'', ''Franchise/{{Lupin III}}'' and ''Anime/{{Naruto}}'' on his bedroom walls, as well as a ''Franchise/{{Gundam}}'' model kit on his desk.

** Young Adonis has posters of ''Anime/DragonBallZ'', ''Franchise/{{Lupin III}}'' and ''Anime/{{Naruto}} on his bedroom walls, as well as a ''Franchise/{{Gundam}}'' model kit on his desk.

* ShoutOut: Little Duke warns Adonis about Damian's bad intentions by quoting Creator/MayaAngelou (or possibly UsefulNotes/HillaryRodhamClinton) by telling him "when someone shows you who he is, believe him".