Rocky (Sylvester Stallone) faced a massive opponent both physically and metaphorically in Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren) in ROCKY IV, so it’s befitting Michael B. Jordan do the same in CREED 2. The upcoming sequel has officially cast the son of Drago, and it goes without saying, the “Big” box has certainly been checked off.
Romanian-German boxer Florian “Big Nasty” Munteanu has officially been cast to play Jordan’s opponent in CREED 2, as confirmed by THR. Another name in the ring was MMA fighter Sabe Northcutt, who auditioned for the role not too long ago. But Stallone himself took to Instagram to congratulate Munteanu, showing a pic of the face Jordan will square off against come November:
The plot of ROCKY IV found Rocky facing off against the Russian Drago during the last years of the Cold War, with the feud boiling over after Drago killed Apollo Creed. Jordan played Creed’s son, Adonis, in the first movie and will reprise the role again to fight Drago’s son, and Stallone has taken to Instagram in the past to tease the story of history repeating itself. Lundgren will also be coming back for the sequel, no doubt as a trainer for his son. Someone oughta tell Creed that – historically speaking – the odds aren’t really in his favor.
I’ve never seen Munteanu act, nor has anyone else really, but the dude looks like a beast and will no doubt give Jordan a fight worth remembering. There’s enough history between the two sides of the ring to make for some compelling drama, even if the first CREED will be immensely hard to top.
CREED 2 is set for November 21.