Sarah put to words yesterday what I was afraid to say out loud: will Adonis lose to Damian in Creed III? I mean, that’s a reality when you cast Jonathan Majors as your opponent, isn’t it? Because… I don’t think I can see Donnie beating Damian. Damian is hungrier, Donnie has more to lose. 

 

But what’s also interesting is, will we actually end up wanting Damian to win? That too is a reality when you cast Jonathan Majors: that the opponent becomes the fan favourite, a “villain” so compelling that you will root for them too. 

It’s a good thing, all these questions. As Sarah articulated in her post yesterday , that’s why there’s so much anticipation, and anxiety. You want to go into a movie with that kind of stress and curiosity, you want that kind of investment from your audience. Which is what Michael B Jordan has been able to achieve in the leadup to the release of his directorial debut. But also, just in case you need more reason to see it, he’s also serving up some of this:

 

Now we have a matching pair. MBJ’s giving us manspread on the cover of Rolling Stone, and last week Jonathan Majors came through with his version in Ebony. 

Thank you, magazine editors. Excellent journalism, no sarcasm, just love. 

 

I’ll go more into MBJ’s Rolling Stone interview tomorrow because there’s a lot to unpack. For today, though, we’re keeping it to the aesthetic because we also have these shots of him in Paris promoting the movie in Chanel. This is classic Chanel bouclé – but we typically see it on women. Why? It’s just a fabric. Anyone can wear any fabric and MBJ is showing that here. I also LOVE the placement of the double Cs. 

I’m not so fond however of the French title of the movie – Creed III: La Relève de Rocky Balboa. The spirit of that title means, and I’m not a professional translator but my unofficial translation is basically “the legacy of Rocky Balboa” or “the heir of Rocky Balboa”. That’s the energy. Even though this is the third Creed movie…and Sly Stallone isn’t even in it. At this point, don’t we all know that Adonis Creed is the present and future?!