Creed III will be the first film in the Rocky franchise not to feature Sylvester Stallone as the Italian Stallion, with Stallone's reasoning for not returning contradicting his previous appearances in Creed and Creed II specifically. When Creed III was announced, it was revealed that Michael B. Jordan would be making his directorial debut for the film, while also returning as the titular Adonis Creed. It was also announced that Jonathan Majors would join the franchise as the film's antagonist, alongside the news that Rocky Balboa would not be present despite his mentorship of Adonis in the first two installments.
While many have theorized that Stallone's omission from the film would be due to Rocky Balboa's death in Creed III, Stallone clarified his reasoning for not returning to the role that catapulted him into the Hollywood mainstream. In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Stallone stated that he did not return due to the film's different philosophy, namely taking the characters to darker places. Stallone went on to say: "I like my heroes getting beat up, but I just don’t want them going into that dark space." While Stallone's views on his characters are warranted, they do not quite track with how Rocky was portrayed in 2015's Creed and its sequel Creed II, meaning his reasoning for not returning for Creed III contradicts his prior appearances.
Creed Took Rocky To Darker Places Than Ever Before
Both Creed movies took Rocky to darker places than ever explored in the Rocky films. The first Creed had Rocky, despite Adonis Creed's introduction, dealing with the loneliness of his life after the deaths of Adrian, Paulie, and the estrangement of his son Robert. Stallone portrayed Rocky with a subtle, stoic sadness that comes from everyone in his life passing on before him. All of this is compounded when Rocky is diagnosed with cancer and refuses treatment, due to its inability to save Adrian who also died from cancer. This shows how truly dark and upsetting Rocky's character arc was in Creed, with him all but accepting his own death midway through the film.
While in the end, Rocky began treatment and eventually beat his cancer, the majority of Rocky's arc in Creed takes place in those very dark spaces that Stallone seems adamant to avoid with his characters. While not on the same level, this darkness continues into Creed II. The sequel saw the return of Ivan Drago from Rocky IV to Rocky's life, who killed Adonis' father in the ring. The first half of Creed II sees Rocky abandoning Adonis, refusing to train him due to the trauma caused by Drago's murder of Apollo. This continued Creed's exploration of Rocky going to dark places, again contradicting Stallone's Creed III comments.
Stallone Is Wrong, Dark Stories Make For More Compelling Characters
In contradicting himself, Stallone actually proves that darker stories make for more compelling characters. While the Rocky films are beloved by many, their quality undoubtedly dips after the second movie. Despite the following three movies and the reboot, Rocky Balboa, still being enjoyable in their own right, they are not as compelling as the first two movies which were much more grounded in tone. Grounded tones often call for darker stories, as is evident in Creed.
The original Creed is ranked highly in the Rocky franchise, and is often regarded as one of the best of the bunch, even surpassing the original two Rocky films. The majority of the praise heaped on the first Creed is directed at Stallone's performance and Rocky's character arc. All of this only proves that stories going to dark places that may be depressing for a time only makes for more compelling characters when they inevitably rise above the darkness, exemplifying the true underdog spirit of the entire franchise that Creed III is almost certain to continue.