Creed III's fight scenes could push the envelope for the Rocky and Creed movies. Creed III sees Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan) continue his career as a professional boxer, with his old friend Damian Anderson (Jonathan Majors) arriving to challenge him. Creed III marks the directorial debut of Michael B. Jordan, while it is also a first for the Rocky and Creed films in another major way.
In an interview, Michael B. Jordan stated that Creed III's fight scenes would have "a huge Japanese anime influence," with Jordan describing himself as "an anime nerd." At face value, this might seem like a rather unusual approach to the boxing fights of Creed III. However, the anime influence Jordan brings to Creed III could make the film's fight scenes unique.
Creed 3’s Anime Influence Can Make Even More Intense Fights
In terms of fight scenes, anime is full of larger-than-life action seldom realized in live-action. While it is highly unlikely that Creed III's fight scenes will look like something out of Dragon Ball Z, the influence Jordan is referring to might not be quite so literal. The anime-esque fight scenes of Creed III might instead be intended to match the power and intensity of anime fight scenes.
Additionally, with Creed III being shot on IMAX, Jordan might also be referring to the movie's camerawork as taking a page out of the anime playbook, emphasizing big money shots to stand out in the middle of fight scenes. With such an anime-inspired approach, the boxing fights of Creed III could show a level of punishment and power in the ring never seen before in either the Rocky or Creed movies. In turn, that could also benefit the Creed films in another way.
Creed 3's Anime Influence Can Keep The Franchise Fresh
From the start, the Creed movies have consistently delivered not only great fight scenes, but extremely finessed ones, most notably the single-take boxing fight seen in the first Creed. However, with that said, fight choreography within a singular film series is always the most engaging when it evolves. Creed II showed that evolution with a greater emphasis on the strength of Adonis and Creed II's antagonist Viktor Drago (Florian Munteanu), and Creed III could deliver another re-invention in the franchise's fight scenes.
With anime as the baseline from which its fight scenes operate, Creed III can stand apart from any other Rocky or Creed movie. When it comes to boxing movies, the Rocky and Creed franchises have lasted for as long as they have, in part, for the meticulousness of their fight scenes. Michael B. Jordan is not only keeping that trend alive, but putting the ultimate twist on it through Creed III's anime-inspired fight scenes.
