Creed 2 will be bringing back perhaps one of the most popular rivalries in the history of fight movies — Rocky Balboa vs. Ivan Drago. The very person who spilled the beans? Sylvester Stallone himself, of course.
Stallone didn’t reveal much about the film’s plot details, but he did confirm that Rocky and Dolph Lundren’s Drago will be exchanging blows in Creed 2, as previously reported by TMZ .
As every fan of the Rocky films already knows, Ivan Drago killed Rocky Balboa’s best friend Apollo Creed during a boxing match in Rocky IV . Rocky, deeply saddened by Creed’s death, vowed revenge on the intimidating Soviet boxer, setting up one of the most grueling boxing matches in film history. The match was so grueling, in fact, that Rocky had to spend what little remained of his strength to knock Drago out for good.
According to rumors, Creed 2’s main protagonist, Adonis Creed (played by Michael B. Jordan), will be fighting Drago’s son to exact revenge for the death of his father. Of course, considering the manner with which Drago took Apollo out in Rocky IV , one can only hope Drago’s progeny isn’t half as formidable as his dad back in his heyday.
Asked if Drago will be playing the role of a professional boxer or a trainer, Sylvester teased that Rocky is going to “hit Drago once.”
“You know I gotta hit Drago once.”
Rocky Swings at Least One Punch at Drago in Creed 2 https://t.co/s5QzmxVuIq #Creed2 #Rocky pic.twitter.com/jVcUqaNPf8
— Movieweb (@movieweb) August 4, 2017
Of course, given the fact that Rocky Balboa was battling cancer in the first Creed movie, it’s highly unlikely that he’ll be facing Ivan Drago inside the boxing ring again. But then again, Mr. Balboa has no qualms about slugging it out on the streets, as could be seen in Rocky V when he fought Tommy Gunn (played by professional boxer Tommy Morrison). Rocky might be sick and old and bloated, but he’s no stranger to pulling off victories in situations where the odds are stacked against him.
Bringing back Ivan Drago in Creed 2 is also a good way to tie the new Rocky franchise to Balboa’s past. Furthermore, this new direction provides Adonis Creed the perfect opportunity to come to terms with the death of his father. Lastly, the responsibility of preserving his father’s legacy falls on him.
Sylvester Stallone promises he’ll throw down against Dolph Lundgren’s Ivan Drago in his ‘Creed’ sequel: https://t.co/90Ebm4UKgs pic.twitter.com/N0wtz6Huwr
— ScreenCrush (@screencrushnews) August 5, 2017
The sequel to Creed has a tentative release date of November 2017.
[Featured Image by Kiyoshi Ota/Getty Images]
