Michael B. Jordan will not just star in the next installment of the “Creed” franchise but he will also direct the film, according to his co-star Tessa Thompson.
In an interview with MTV’s Josh Horowitz, the actress said Jordan “is directing the next ‘Creed,’” which would be the third film to spin off from the Sylvester Stallone “Rocky” movies and also mark Jordan’s directorial debut.
Reps for MGM, the studio behind the “Creed” franchise, and Jordan did not immediately return TheWrap’s request for comment.
Thompson said she hopes to use Jordan’s new title as People Magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive as fodder against him when they’re sharing some steamy scenes together during filming on “Creed III.”
“It’s going to be ammo, I think, for me when he is engaging with me as a director. I’m just going to tell him to dial down the sexiness,” she told MTV.
“I’m going to pretend it hasn’t happened. They’re going to make another ‘Creed’ very soon, and I don’t need the Sexiest Man Alive to be… I 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 added about learning that People had made him the cover star of its annual issue. “I’m so happy for him. And I will give him a lot of crap about it in person. I cannot wait.”
Back in February, TheWrap reported that Zach Baylin of “King Richard,” the Richard Williams biopic starring Will Smith, would be writing the screenplay for “Creed 3,” though no plot details were revealed. Further, no production date was set for the film.
Jordan and Thompson both starred in director Ryan Coogler’s 2015 “Creed,” which focused on Jordan’s Adonis Creed, the son of Rocky Balboa’s late rival Apollo Creed, as well as the 2018 sequel “Creed II.” The first film grossed $173 million worldwide, while the second reached $214 million in ticket sales.
Jordan will next be seen in the spy thriller “Without Remorse,” and he also joined the cast of Danny Boyle’s “Methuselah” about the Biblical 1,000-year-old man.
Thompson is the star of “Sylvie’s Love,” which recently debuted on Amazon Prime after premiering at Sundance. You can check out her whole interview with MTV above.