“I just feel people have enough darkness”: Sylvester Stallone Reveals He Hates Creed 3, Claims Black Panther Director Ryan Coogler Cherry-Picked Aspects of Rocky

Action star and Oscar nominee Sylvester Stallone admits he is not fond of the new direction that the upcoming Creed movie is heading. Creed 3, Michael B. Jordan’s directorial debut, is the first film in the Rocky franchise that will exclude Stallone.

Creed 3 Michael Jordan Sylvester Stallone — *Sylvester Stallone as Rocky Balboa and Michael B. Jordan as Adonis Creed*

Jordan will be taking the story into a so-called “dark space” with a new philosophy far from what the previous Rocky movies had. Stallone reveals he finds this direction regretful.

Rocky Actor Sylvester Stallone Regrets The New Direction Of Creed 3

In his interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Stallone says that Ryan Coogler, director of Black Panther and producer for Creed 3, cherry-picked aspects of Rocky without even asking the actor if he wanted to join in. “I’m not an executive producer on the Creed movies. Ryan Coogler is. Michael B. Jordan is. [Winkler and Chartoff’s] children are. Not mine. I’m the only one left out,” Stallone said.

Creed 3 will follow Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan) facing a new villain, Damian Anderson (Jonathan Majors). Stallone ponders how much he regrets the changes. He added:

“That’s a regretful situation because I know what it could have been. It was taken in a direction that is quite different than I would’ve taken it. It’s a different philosophy – Irwin Winkler’s and Michael B. Jordan’s. I wish them well, but I’m much more of a sentimentalist. I like my heroes getting beat up, but I just don’t want them going into that dark space. I just feel people have enough darkness.”

Creed 3 Michael Jordan — *Michael B. Jordan in Creed 2*

Despite Stallone’s absence from the upcoming film, Jordan assured fans in his previous interview that it will honor the actor and the franchise he has built over the decades. Jordan said (via IndieWire):

“I think that Sly let it be known that he wasn’t coming back for this one but I think, you know, his essence and his spirit. There’s always going to be a little bit of Rocky within Adonis. But this is a ‘Creed’ franchise, and we really want to build this story and this world around [Adonis Creed] moving forward.”

The Creed star says that he respects the Rocky franchise, but it needs to move forward and focus on the future of Adonis, as Sylvester Stallone’s character won’t come back anymore.

Creed 3 will arrive in theaters on March 2023.