Michael B Jordan Introduces CREED III in His Directorial Debut and Represents ASL in Film
By Tiana Allen
CREED III is opening March 3rd, 2023, and journalists who attended the virtual press conference got the first look at the trailer.
In Jordan’s directorial debut, starring an incredible cast to the likes of Jonathan Majors, Phylicia Rashad, Tessa Thompson, Wood Harris, Mila Davis Kent, Saul Alvarez, and Jose Benitez, the film takes us back to the world of Adonis “Donnie” Creed and the evolution of his family. The film also adds a twist from his past, an invite to his present and a glimpse of his future.
Since hitting the big screen in 2015 with the first CREED, and in 2018 with CREED II, the franchise has become a massive success grossing $377 million at the worldwide box office.
In speaking about his big debut as a director, Jordan jokingly shares “[I was] holding on for dear life!” and mentioned how meditation and “staying 10 steps ahead” helped him mentally prepare to be both the director and the star of the film.
“I think it was the perfect time for me” Jordan Includes. “I’ve grown up on set for the past 20 years. I started out doing background and extra work, now, I’m in a place in my career where I wanted to tell the story and not just be in front of the camera executing somebody else’s vision.”
Jordan adds “I’ve been blessed to work with a lot of incredible directors and having guidance from mentors and people that I look up to.” Jordan shares getting encouragement from Black Panther Director, Ryan Coogler who said, “It’s never the right time. You just gotta jump in the deep end and go for it!” Jordan also mentions getting “wise advice” from Denzel Washington.
When asked about Tessa Thompson’s character “Bianca” and representing the hearing impaired [HoH] community in the film, Jordan gives a shout-out to press conference ASL Interpreter Alberto Madero, stating “I think for me it was the sum of all things combined. The [hearing impaired] community doesn’t really get true representation as much as they should, and we used this [film] as an opportunity to do that.”
Jordan also shares that casting his co-star, (new-comer and hearing impaired actress) Mila Davis Kent who plays his daughter in the film “was amazing.” Jordan adds “Learning ASL and normalizing it [in this film] was a really big deal for us. Hopefully in watching this movie, you feel it.”
On working with Jonathan Majors who plays the films “antagonist,” “Anderson Dame” Jordan states “he [Majors] is incredible and extremely talented. The world is finding out daily, how incredible this man is in the work that he does. He is finally getting the props that’s due. I am very, very blessed, and lucky to have him be a part of this story.”
Jordan also recognizes the cultural representation of Mexican Boxers in the film sharing how having Saul Alvarez and Jose Benitez as characters in the movie represented the history of boxing with the Mexican culture being such a pillar within the sport. “I wanted to incorporate Mexican boxing culture into this film where we could.” States Jordan
“I think [CREED III] is a reflection of where I was in my life professionally and personally and I had a lot to say around that.”
With an amazing soundtrack produced by J. Cole’s Dreamville Records, CREED III premiers in theatres on March 3rd 2023.
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