*Spoilers about Creed coming up*
Creed was extremely predictable, as it followed the patterns set forth in the original Rocky movie. By doing so, it was a successful film and almost unarguably the best since the first two. (I know some of you, myself included, have a certain love for the fourth.) Before the final match even began, we all knew that Pretty Ricky was going to secure a victory by decision, but Adonis would earn his respect and give him the fight of his life in the process. Rocky himself foreshadowed it by saying that Apollo was the better boxer during his lone victory over the GOAT, but his heart pulled him through.
Adonis will have to rely on his heart to pull him through again as he will fight another boxer with more experience and skill than him in the sequel. After Ricky Conlin is sent to jail, there will have to be a match for the vacated light heavyweight titles that he held. Since Danny “Stuntman” Wheeler is the number one contender, we already know that the newly recognized Young Creed will have to fight this old demon to convince himself he is the real deal. The world doesn’t doubt Creed’s ability, but Adonis certainly does. His loss to Conlin only helped so much.
Wheeler is the only man we know of to put Adonis on the mat for good, and Adonis needs to prove to himself that he’s changed enough through his training with Rocky to earn the respect of every fighter. He earned Leo’s respect, he earned Ricky’s respect, but Wheeler still knows that he can drop Adonis. The only way Adonis will respect himself is to earn Wheeler’s respect and the stage is already set for the rematch.
Just like Rocky, Creed isn’t defending an undefeated record. He’s not afraid of losing. He’s going to go out there and give Wheeler everything he’s got. Or will he? Perhaps Adonis will finally lose his cool and lose the championship in the process. With the three or so major fights that we saw in the first Creed, there’s a good chance we’ll see a loss and a rematch in this one as well. Maybe some personal issues will distract him earlier on in the film. Rocky’s road to recovery, a health issue with his mother, or even some relationship problems with Bianca. We know that Adonis is vulnerable.
You’ve probably already thought of it but if not, here you are. We will definitely be seeing a sequel to Creed as a result of the critical acclaim and box office success it had. Conlin will be going to jail and the Creed/Wheeler “rematch” will decide who receives his vacated titles. A few matches and some personal struggles will add similar drama to the sequel as we saw throughout the original five, but Adonis will hit a career high point in the process. We’ll get to see a bit of Andre Ward’s acting chops in the process. Tony Bellew did a more than adequate job and Ward will be able to do the same.
Expect to see it in late 2016 because it won’t take long to make and studios don’t want to lose strong sources of revenue. Jordan’s already in shape and Andre Ward will only take so much time off his boxing career. I wouldn’t be surprised if they shoot for the same release date due to its success in the box office, but they’ll try to avoid releasing around any Marvel or DC blockbusters. Watching motivational films like Creed can definitely help someone get hungry and fit.
