Jonathan Majors’ Damian and Michael B. Jordan’s Adonis have a complex bond in a new Creed 3 image. Jordan revived the Rocky franchise (alongside returning star Sylvester Stallone) with his portrayal of hungry fighter Adonis Creed in 2015’s smash hit Creed. Now the star is set to make the Creed franchise his own by taking the directorial reins for the highly anticipated second follow-up Creed III.

Rocky himself may not be part of the action in Creed III, but Jordan has recruited another heavy-hitting actor to spar with in Lovecraft Country’s Majors. As previously teased, Majors plays Creed III’s villain, a character with a grudge named Damian. And for the sake of authenticity, Majors got incredibly jacked for his role as the antagonist who pushes Adonis in Jordan’s first go-around as director. But the relationship between Damian and Donnie is indeed more complex than the standard hero-villain thing, as is teased in a new Creed III image released by Empire. See the image in the space below:

Jonathan Majors as Damian stands on the edge of a boxing ring bumping his gloves into the fists of Michael B Jordan as Adonis in Creed 3

Related: Why Sylvester Stallone's Rocky Isn't In Creed 3

How Jonathan Majors' Damian Will Challenge Michael B. Jordan's Donnie

Adonis "Donnie" Johnson (Michael B. Jordan), Damian "Dame" Anderson (Jonathan Majors) in Creed III.

The recently released Creed III trailer gave audiences their first taste of the dynamic between Majors’ Damian and Jordan’s Donnie. In the clip, Adonis doesn’t initially recognize Damian, an old friend from his youth who has been in prison for a long time: a measure of how different their lives have been since they first bonded as kids. The clip then shows the two “brothers” reconnecting, but as Majors is the villain of Creed III, it’s clear that their friendship will soon go sour.

But while it’s plain that Damian is being positioned as the “bad guy” of Creed III, he’s definitely no cartoon villain like classic Rocky franchise characters Clubber Lang and Ivan Drago. Driving this point home, Jordan in Empire refers to Damian as “a grounded character who’s antagonistic by nature,” but whose antagonism comes from “real emotions.” Jordan also says, “I think he has an intensity and a realness of character we haven’t seen before.”

It’s plain from Jordan’s remarks that his intention is for the audience to sympathize with Damian, a character who feels he was robbed of his chance to become a champion like Adonis. This will no doubt lead to some complicated emotions as Damian comes for Donnie, forcing his old friend to put the boxing gloves back on and return to the ring. Previous antagonists in the Rocky series have been memorable indeed, but few have ever had the kind of personal connection with the hero that Damian has with Adonis in Creed 3. That is bound to make the challenge tougher for Jordan’s character, as he carries a whole lot of mixed emotions into the ring. The audience should also be in for a gripping experience as these two old friends become rivals between the ropes.

More: Creed 3 Is Already Repeating A Lot Of Rocky III's Story (But That's OK)

Source: Empire

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