Creed 2 did a great job humanizing Ivan Drago, but it cut out arguably his best scene. The Rocky series created some great antagonists for Sylvester Stallone's title boxer to face, including Apollo Creed - who later became his best friend - and Clubber Lang. One of the most iconic is Rocky IV's Ivan Drago, a Russian boxer played by Dolph Lundgren. Drago was basically a walking metaphor for the Soviet Union, and after he ends up killing Creed in a boxing match, Rocky takes it upon himself to beat him in the ring.
Lundgren's Drago was almost impossibly tall and muscular in Rocky IV, and the role made the actor a star. Of course, Rocky ends up winning their bout, but it left lasting damage physically and psychologically, as Rocky V showed. The later sequels didn't address Drago's fate, however, and it wasn't until Creed 2 - over 30 years after his debut - that he returned. This sequel saw Drago training his son Viktor (Florian Munteanu) for a fight against Adonis Creed, the son of Apollo. Since Rocky is also training Adonis (Michael B. Jordan), this makes things personal all around.
Dolph Lundgren admitted he considered turning down Ivan Drago's return in Creed 2, as the character is so iconic to audiences. That said, Creed 2 did a great job bringing the boxer to Earth, revealing he was left disgraced and outcast after losing his fight with Rocky, and he's using his son to reclaim his own glory. It also showed he's far from a monster, especially when he throws in the towel to end the fight between Adonis and Viktor, as the latter is bound to lose but refuses to stop. Sadly, the movie ended up deleting what may have been the best scene for Drago and his son.
This deleted Creed 2 sequence later arrived on Blu-ray and saw Adonis Creed spotting Viktor in the locker room after their second fight. Adonis walks over and sits next to the upset Viktor, and reassures him that he's more than one fight. The two share an unspoken moment when Ivan walks over and stops upon seeing the son of the man he killed in the ring. While no words are exchanged between them either, Adonis gives a nod indicating he's moved on. After Adonis leaves, Rocky also walks by and he and the Dragos all share a look indicating all of them have finally broken with the past.
This deleted locker room scene from Creed 2 is low on dialogue, but it's powerful as all four men make peace with one another. Viktor and Adonis have stepped out of their father's shadows to become their own men, Ivan has finally learned to become a father while he and Rocky even share a moment that would have been unthinkable before. While talking to The Empire Film Podcast, Creed 2 director Steven Caple Jr spoke of how difficult it was to cut the scene.
He felt that Creed 2 had one too many endings, between Rocky reconnecting with his son and Adonis visiting Apollo's grave. While he loved the locker room scene, it was felt it was a little too much. He also liked the dual narrative of the sequel, with Adonis and Rocky on one side of the fight while the Dragos were on the other. Even so, it's a real shame the scene was taken out, as it felt like a perfect ending to the feud between the four characters. Dolph Lundgren also mentioned that Stallone was upset the scene was trimmed, as he wanted it in the movie too.