After Ryan Coogler's Creed and Steven Caple Jr.'s Creed II, it was revealed several months ago that series star Michael B. Jordan was considering helming the third installment of the franchise himself as his directorial debut. We haven't heard all that much about the franchise since then, but while speaking with MTV's Josh Horowitz recently, Tessa Thompson confirmed that Michael B. Jordan will indeed be directing Creed III.
Michael B. Jordan was crowned People's Sexiest Man Alive last month, which prompted Tessa Thompson to joke, "I haven't talked to him about it because I'm gonna pretend it hasn't happened. We're gonna make another Creed very soon, and I don't need the sexiest man alive to…you know what I mean, I just don't need it. I don't need any of it. It's too much for me to shoulder. It's too much for me to handle." Thompson then promised to "give him a lot of crap for it in person," before saying that Michael B. Jordan "is directing the next Creed." Thompson added that Jordan's Sexiest Man Alive title is "going to be ammo for me when he's engaging with me as a director, I'm just going to tell him to dial down the sexiness." Thompson also said that they're "not going to make it until later in the year," which is understandable as she's set to reprise her role of Valkyrie for Thor: Love and Thunder when the Marvel sequel begins shooting early next year.
We've known that Michael B. Jordan might get the chance to direct Creed III for some time, as franchise producer Irwin Winkler said last year that he "promised Michael B. Jordan that he’d get his chance to direct Creed III. Last year in a conversation with our Creed star Michael B. Jordan, I offered him the opportunity to not only star in, but also to direct Creed III." Although Creed II wasn't quite as successful with critics as it's predecessor, it was a big success as the box-office, which as we know, spells sequel in just about every language.