Michael B. Jordan, the leading actor and director of Creed III, revealed how Dragon Ball Z inspired the ninth installment in the Rocky film series.
According to Otaku USA, Jordan discussed the anime influences of Creed III at IGN Fan Fest. “Without nerding out too much… You’ve seen so many fights throughout the Rocky and Creed franchise, and I really wanted to put my spin on it, you know?” Jordan said. “How to make these fights different, and you know, from Hajime no Ippo to Megalobox to Naruto to My Hero Academia, all of those different anime that I watched growing up, there’s an inherent spirit to them in how they fight and their bonds and relationships and all that good stuff. But it’s very similar to the brotherhood and bond that we [Adonis Creed and Damian Anderson] have and his [Adonis Creed] relationships to his family as well. So, I tried to key in on some of those moments.”
Creed III Features a Dragon Ball Z-Style Punch
Jordan cited Dragon Ball Z as one of the anime influences fans should look out for in Creed III. Specifically, a Dragon Ball Z punch in the fight between Jordan’s character and Jonathan Majors’ Damian Anderson. While no specific move was cited, original series protagonist Goku has been behind memorable punches in the Dragon Ball Z series, such as delivering a blow to Vegeta in Kaioken x3 mode or smashing Jiren’s face after he attacked Goku’s friends in Dragon Ball Super.
This isn’t the first time Jordan has talked about his love of anime and manga and how it shaped the development of Creed III. In a previous interview, Jordan spoke about how various sequences from the movie were inspired by Hajime no Ippo. “With boxing anime like Hajime No Ippo, I really love the inner dialogue of what’s going on and happening in the ring from the characters,” he said.
Creed III sees Adonis “Donnie” Creed square off against his former friend Damian “Dame” Anderson in a winner-takes-all match. The drama serves as the ninth entry in the Rocky franchise and marks the first without original star Sylvester Stallone as Rocky Balboa, who bowed out due to the dark turn Jordon and producer Irwin Winkler decided to take. Additional cast members include Florian Munteanu as Viktor Drago, Tessa Thompson as Bianca and Phylicia Rashad as Mary Anne Creed.
Creed III will open in North America on March 3.
Source: Otaku USA (via IGN)
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