Michael B. Jordan Talks Making His Directorial Debut With Creed III and His Dedication To Inclusive Storytelling
Michael B. Jordan first put on the gloves to introduce us to Adonis Creed in Creed back in 2015. Now he prepares to take on double duty as he heads into the director’s chair for the very first time for 2023’s Creed III. At the press conference for the new film, we got a first look at the trailer, seen above, as Jordan opened up about why this was the right film for his directorial debut and about his dedication to inclusion and representation within the Black community.
Having played Adonis Creed for the last eight years and really knowing and living with the character made Creed III the perfect film to make that transition to director. “For me, it was the perfect time,” said Jordan. “Growing up on set, in the industry over 20 years […] I finally got to this place in my careers where I wanted to tell a story and not just be in front of the camera, not just execute someone else’s vision. […] I had a lot to say as a young man, as a young Black man, just my life experiences and how I could actually share that, share a piece of myself with the world through these characters and through this story.”
Jordan even got advice from long time collaborator Ryan Coogler, who directed both Creed and Black Panther. “You know, I was talking to Ryan Coogler back when we were doing Creed I, and he was just like, ‘It's never the right time. You just gotta jump in the deep end and go for it, you know?’” he shared. “He gave me a lot of encouragement. So I just felt like it was the right time for me.”
While he had the support, he still called directing Creed III “the most challenging thing” he’s ever done. “[I was] daily pushing myself to new limits, learning how to communicate and really get across what’s in your head and have other people pick up on that passion, on that enthusiasm and want to execute your vision to the best of their ability,” said Jordan.
The third film features a bit of a time jump to get to the next chapter for Donnie and Bianca, while continuing to focus on the themes of “family and heart” as the core drum beat. “It was important to get to a pivotal point in Donnie's career, in Bianca's career. We've seen them fall in love. We've seen them, come together and create life in a family together. I wanted to get to the next stage, the next crossroads for them, you know? The next level of life and experience as young adults dealing with professional career and family, and the choices that come along with that,” he said. “I think it was a reflection of where I was in my life, you know, professionally, personally. I just had a lot to say around that, so I figured that we'd progress things there.”
Another huge focus was continuing to explore positive and inclusive themes on mental health, hearing impairment, and the structure of the Black family. “It’s extremely important. With not a lot of examples of those things out there and this being a movie that has all of those in one, it’s very important for this franchise to continue to put those themes on the forefront and normalize them. […] We can actually do something about it […] and hopefully be a difference maker,” he said. “And we’re going to continue to do so.”
In Creed, Bianca deals with early stages of progressive hearing loss and that evolves into her becoming a mother and the possibility that their child could be hard of hearing or ultimately deaf. “How do they deal with that obstacle and turn it into a superpower? It was a community of people that didn't really get true representation as much as they should and we use this as an opportunity to do that. Casting Mila Davis Kent was amazing. She's deaf, and us learning ASL and normalizing it was a really big deal for us,” shared Jordan. “Hopefully in watching this movie, you feel it. […] There's no sympathy there. We're just normalizing it, you know? It was something that was really important for us to do throughout this story. So we have incredible interpreters and resources that we leaned on to make sure we got it right.”
Creed III introduces us to a new character played by Jonathan Majors, who Jordan calls an “antagonist” instead of a villain and a “pivotal person and pillar” in Donnie’s life. “Jonathan Majors is incredible. Very, very blessed and lucky to have him be a part of this story. And for me as a director, just to have that running mate and have that scene partner you know, it made all the difference in the world. I think he's extremely talented. The world is finding out daily how incredible this man is in the work that he does […] is finally getting the props that's due. He showed up every day ready, ready to go to war, ready to work,” shared Jordan. “Me and him bonded in a way that I never had an opportunity to. It's my first time directing that relationship between director and actor. I really understand that now and it's a bond that'll last forever.”
The upcoming film also features real-life Mexican boxers Canelo Álvarez and José Luis Benítez in new roles. “Mexican culture is such a pillar within the sport of boxing and [we] felt like there wasn’t really a lot of representation throughout the films in that type of way,” revealed Jordan. “It just didn't seem like the reality I lived in, so I wanted to incorporate Mexican culture into this film where we could.”
Jordan is dedicated to uplifting Black and Brown communities within both the Creed universe and our real world, even doing surprise in-person first showings of the Creed III trailer for students of Morehouse, Spellman, Clark Atlanta, and Morris Brown. “It’s a pivotal time for these students of who they were going into college and who they're becoming and who will they be when they leave, when they go off into the world,” he said, recognizing what HBCU culture does to incubate Black excellence. “And [there are] a lot of things that are going on in this movie that I feel would help them have some clarity in and relate to sometimes tough decisions that you have to go through [to] become an adult. […] You're gonna be all right. You're gonna get through it. So it's really important for me to get this movie to HBCUs, but then also just the representation. I want to be able to let them see themselves on screen in a really big way and whatever I can do to help ingrain that and be around and be a part, and just be of service. You know, being present was something that I wanted to do.”
Creed III opens March 3, 2023. See more photos from the upcoming film, below:
