Creed II (2018)

Creed II is a 2018 American sports drama film directed by Steven Caple Jr., and written by Sylvester Stallone and Juel Taylor, from a story by Sascha Penn and Cheo Hodari Coker. A sequel to Creed (2015) and the eighth installment in the Rocky film series, it stars Michael B. Jordan, Stallone, Tessa Thompson, Dolph Lundgren, Florian Munteanu, Wood Harris, and Phylicia Rashad. Creed writer-director Ryan Coogler serves as an executive producer on the film. The film follows a fight over 33 years in the making, as Adonis Creed meets a new adversary in the ring: Viktor Drago, son of Ivan Drago, the powerful athlete who took the life of Adonis' father Apollo Creed in 1985's Rocky IV.

A Creed sequel was confirmed in January 2016, although due to both Coogler and Jordan's involvement in Black Panther, the film was delayed, with Coogler ultimately being replaced by Caple. Stallone completed the script in July 2017 and announced Lundgren would be reprising his role as Drago, and filming began in Philadelphia in March 2018, lasting through June.

Creed II was released in the United States by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Warner Bros. on November 21, 2018. The film grossed $214 million worldwide and received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised the performances, character development, and Caple's direction, while noting its predictability.