February 28, 2023
As the "Rocky" cinematic universe shifts to center on the story of Adonis Creed, the actor behind the next-generation boxer is already getting his flowers.
Michael B. Jordan, star and director of the upcoming film "Creed III," will be honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Wednesday, March 1.
Jordan will receive the 2,751st star on the Walk of Fame, in the category of Motion Pictures. The ceremony will feature Jordan's "Creed III" costar Jonathan Majors and "Creed" director Ryan Coogler.
Along with playing Creed in three "Rocky" spinoff films, Jordan played the iconic Marvel villain Killmonger in "Black Panther" and "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever." The 36-year-old actor began his career in TV roles on shows like "The Wire" and "Friday Night Lights," and broke through with a starring role in Coogler's 2013 film "Fruitvale Station."
Jordan has received acclaim throughout his career, including six NAACP Image Awards and a Screen Actors Guild Award. In 2020, he was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by "Time" as well as Sexiest Man Alive by "People." He also launched his own production company in 2016 called Outlier Society, and has engaged in philanthropy in Hollywood and his hometown of Newark, New Jersey.
"Creed" premiered in 2015 and was followed by "Creed II" in 2018, which broke box office records as the highest-grossing live-action film to ever open on Thanksgiving weekend. Jordan returns to the titular role in his directorial debut, "Creed III," which premieres Friday, March 3.
The third installation in the "Creed" saga sees Creed on top of the world in his personal and professional life, until he runs into a former childhood friend Damian "Dame" Anderson (Majors). Anderson is recently out of prison and looking to gain his own boxing glory, which eventually leads to a matchup in the ring between the former pals.
Along with Jordan and Majors, Tessa Thompson will return to play Creed's wife, Bianca. Noticeably absent from the cast will be Rocky himself, Sylvester Stallone, who will not be returning to this iteration of the franchise as it moves forward to represent Creed's story.
"We really want fans to be interested in Adonis and what that story has to say," Jordan told Yahoo! Entertainment in 2021. "There's going to be so many Rocky-isms that are forever going to stay with Adonis as he moves forward. So as far as page space, or whether or not Rocky comes back for this one, this is the 'Creed' franchise moving forward."
To promote the new film, Jordan recently hosted "Saturday Night Live" and starred in a new Calvin Klein campaign that has gone viral on social media.
the debut. @michaelb4jordan in Calvins or nothinghttps://t.co/XUkndUhc6E pic.twitter.com/s1GNu3hFeb
— calvinklein (@CalvinKlein) February 27, 2023
He and the "Creed III" cast also attended the Los Angeles premiere of the movie earlier this week, during which he playfully confronted a radio host and former classmate from Newark who apparently called Jordan "corny."
Early reviews of "Creed III" have skewed positive, with a 90% rating so far on Rotten Tomatoes and a critical consensus that, "Stepping out from Rocky Balboa's iconic shadow at last, the 'Creed' franchise reasserts its champion status thanks to star Michael B. Jordan's punchy direction and a nuanced heel turn by Jonathan Majors."
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