Michael B. Jordan incorporated his love of anime into Creed 3' boxing scenes. As the ninth overall installment in the Rocky franchise and the third film in the Creed spinoff series, Creed III is taking the long-running boxing franchise in a different direction. It is the first film in the series not to star Sylvester Stallone as Rocky Balboa, who remains on board as a producer. In addition to playing Adonis for the third time, Creed III also marks Jordan's directorial debut, who is expected to bring his own vision to the franchise.
During a recent appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Michael B. Jordan discussed pulling double duty starring in and directing Creed III.
While directing his first feature-length film, the Creed III star pulled from an unexpected source of inspiration – anime – and during the interview, he discussed how his love of Japanese animation influenced the film's fight scenes. Read what Jordan said below:
"It was a gift and a curse. There’s been eight other movies before me. You can shoot a boxing match so many different ways. I think ‘cause I was kind of put in a corner, it kind of forced me to be more creative and really find, like, think outside the box of how to make the fights different. So we shot all the fights in IMAX. And also, I had a huge Japanese anime influence on a lot of my fights. I’m an anime nerd."
What Are The Most Iconic Fight Scenes In The Rocky-Creed Franchise
Currently spanning eight films, with each installment featuring at least one main bout during the third act, the Rocky franchise is filled with iconic fights. A few of the franchise's most famous fights came in the first two Rocky films when Sylvester Stallone's titular prizefighter gets a once-in-a-lifetime shot at the world heavyweight championship title held by Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers). Though Rocky loses the first fight, it represents a major moral victory for the massive underdog who went the distance with the heavyweight champion, and in the 1979 sequel, the rematch results in the title changing owners. Perhaps the most iconic fight of the franchise is when Rocky defeats the Russian super-fighter Ivan Drago in Rocky IV, the hard-fought victory representing Rocky's incredible perseverance (as well as the United States triumphing over the Soviet Union during the Cold War).
Beginning in 2015, the Creed spinoff series has followed suit by featuring some equally impressive fight scenes. One standout sequence from the spinoffs is when Donnie, desperate to prove himself, takes on Leo "The Lion" Sporino in the first Creed film - the brutal back-and-forth fight shot in one continuous take by director Ryan Coogler. With Jordan now at the helm and drawing from some unexpected influences, and not to mention shooting the threequel with IMAX cameras, Creed III's main bout between Donnie and Damian Anderson (Jonathan Majors) will hopefully enter the franchise's pantheon of iconic fights.
How Japanese Anime Is Influential For Creed III
This isn't the first time Jordan has mentioned how his love of anime and manga influenced the film's fights. Previously, the Creed III star and director revealed that it was the popular boxing-themed manga series Hajime no Ippo that helped him conceptualize the threequel's boxing and training sequences, including their stylized slow-motion visuals, as well as Donnie and Dame's emotional journeys and inner dialogue within the ring. Jordan's full directorial vision for the boxing franchise will be on full display when Creed III releases in theaters on March 3.
Source: The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
