A Creed spinoff film is in the works and set to follow the story of the infamous Rocky antagonist Ivan Drago and his son Viktor.
Screenwriter Robert Lawton is writing the screenplay for MGM studio who are looking to expand the boxing franchise that starred Sylvester Stallone and kicked off in the 1970s.
Drago comes off the success of Creed, which followed the offspring of one of Rocky’s rivals, Adonis Creed. A spinoff of a spinoff, if you will.
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Ivan Drago first appeared in 1985’s Rocky IV, while his on-screen son, Viktor Drago, appeared in 2018's Creed II. Viktor stepped into the ring to face Apollo Creed’s son, who was played by Michael B. Jordan.
Lawton had been tasked by MGM to flesh out the backstory of Russia's Ivan Drago, according to Variety.
The screenwriter impressed the production studio with his script for Becoming Rocky, which is about the making of the first film in the series.
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The script was one of 50 that won a 2021 Nicholl Fellowship and led to the MGM execs giving Lawton the job for next spinoff in the film series.
He told Variety: “I’m incredibly humbled and grateful for this opportunity, and I’m approaching it as an enormous fan of the Rocky franchise, who happens to be a screenwriter.”
There had been rumours that a film following Drago was in the works, most notably from Dolph Lundgren who played Ivan Drago in Rocky IV and Creed II.
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He told The Hollywood Reporter last year: “By the way, I think there’s some talk about doing a whole spinoff on Drago with MGM. So you may get more of that.”
Whilst the casting direction hasn’t been confirmed, if the storyline of Creed is anything to go off then Florian Munteanu, who plays Ivan’s son Viktor in Creed II, will likely be a major focus of the film.
Munteanu actually was a boxer in his early life, competing under the ring name ‘Big Nasty’ before getting his acting breakthrough when Sylvester Stallone was searching for a European fighter to play the son of Ivan.
The German actor is set to star again in Creed III alongside Michael B. Jordan, who is directing the film in his feature debut.
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The third edition in the series was scheduled for release on November 23, 2022, however that's now been pushed back to 3 March 2023.
Keep an eye out for any references to the Drago film.
Topics: TV and Film, Sylvester Stallone, Boxing
Jayden Collins