The first trailer for Creed II just dropped and Kathleen is too busy to watch it. This is her nightmare. No one loves Michael B. Jordan as much as she does, and this trailer is basically two minutes of shirtless, glistening MBJ as he says things like, “We’re a team now,” which I imagine Kathleen hears as being spoken directly to her. Because she has not yet seen the trailer, Kathleen asked if she will cry and/or die. Yes, Kathleen. You will cry AND die because MBJ looks super f*cking hot and also because Creed II looks good. I mean, I’m already DEEPLY WORRIED about Adonis Creed so you know this trailer is effective.

This is basically a remake of Rocky IV which is one of Lainey’s favorite movies and because it’s her birthday I am not allowed to sh-t on it. (*clears throat and makes a Dame Maggie Smith pursed-lips face*) Creed II pits Adonis, son of Apollo, against Victor, son of Ivan, for a Drago v. Creed rematch. I am stressed the f*ck out because Victor Drago is like twice Donnie’s size. HOW WILL DONNIE WIN? Victor Drago is huge! Donnie is training in the desert, Rocky is hitting him in the stomach, he is basically being tortured as preparation for this fight, but WILL IT BE ENOUGH? I return to Exhibit A: Victor Drago is huge. I am 100% into this conflict. I am also 100% into the interpersonal drama suggested between Donnie and Bianca (Tessa Thompson, earning that above-the-line billing). They have a baby! Dudes holding babies does nothing for me, but I expect many ovaries have exploded this day (Kathleen has probably expired). I am, however, into the family honor setup of the story—whose honor, which family, how do you truly honor legacy?—and I LOVE it when he says, “We’re a team.” This is the good stuff.

Creed II comes out November 21st. Last time, Warner Brothers didn’t know what they had and were surprised by Creed’s success, and then they botched a potential award season push because they didn’t see Creed as “that kind of movie”. Will they see Creed II differently? Now that they know what this can be, are they prepared to support this movie if it starts getting those kinds of accolades? I hope so. I hope they’re standing by with trophy strategy for the movie, and for MBJ and Tessa Thompson, and, I guess, Sylvester Stallone (although he has the name recognition and even without a real push for Creed he still got an Oscar nomination). But mostly I hope they support this movie. They missed the boat on Creed. Don’t do it again.