The directive of the Creed franchise to build its own legacy has often felt shaky. For one, the first two installments, while setting up Adonis Creed as the scion of heavyweight champion Apollo, leaned heavily on the emotional presence of its former hero, Rocky. Secondly, though the Rocky franchise relied on incredible narrative and visual continuity (of the six films, four were helmed by Sylvester Stallone and two by John G. Avildsen), each Creed film has been led by different directors. With Creed III, the series’ star Michael B Jordan, in his directorial debut, is now the third filmmaker to guide this character past the shadows of its roots.
