Sylvester Stallone Is Directing Michael B. Jordan in Creed 2

A promising sequel gets a proven director.

Who'd have thought, in the year of our Lord 2017, that Rocky of all fucking franchises would be seeing such a resurgence? 2015's Creed was a masterful expansion of the world, introducing Michael B. Jordan's Adonis Creed (son of Apollo) and a new, more socially conscious outlook on what it means to be a modern underdog.

Now, Creed 2 is moving forward, and with Ryan Coogler busy in the MCU with Black Panther, a new director has taken charge for the sequel: Rocky himself, Sylvester Stallone.

While Stallone's more recent directorial ventures have been, to put it bluntly, incredibly boring (he was last seen helming the ambitious and bafflingly successful The Expendables), he at least here already has a solid blueprint from Coogler to work with. Michael B. Jordan is a bona fide star, and we know the two have chemistry from the first Creed. As far as replacing Coogler goes, this is the simplest, most basic choice. For Stallone, however, it might just be a major shot in the arm.

Creed 2 is due out next year, and is rumored to be bringing back Dolph Lundgren's Ivan Drago, too. That'd be cool.