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PHILADELPHIA — After playing one of the most iconic villains in the Rocky movie franchise, Dolph Lundgren is getting back in the ring to take another swing.

In Creed II (out Nov. 21), the 60-year-old Swede is back playing the role that made him a star, mentoring his son, Viktor (played by Florian Munteanu), who takes on Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan), the son of the man Drago killed in the ring in Rocky IV.

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But Lundgren, outfitted in a warm-up suit with the name DRAGO emblazoned on the front, promises the sequel isn’t just a straight-up revenge tail.

“The Russians are here for a reason,” he said during the Sun’s visit to the set earlier this spring. “It’s not just about getting beat up.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u22BXhMu4tI&t=3s

If the Drago we met in 1985 seemed like an unbeatable machine, the one we encounter in 2018 is the shell of his former self. Using his son to restore his name — and exact revenge against Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky Balboa — is his sole ambition.

“There’s a lot of pain and anger and revenge themes in there — and that drives my character forward. He’s relentless and doesn’t care about anything; he just has to win. It’s win at any cost. Son, no son, whatever he has to do to win, he does.”

During a break in filming an entrance scene, Lundgren spoke about what it was like to bring back the character that’s haunted Rocky all these years.

It’s been 33 years since Rocky IV. Did you feel like you had unfinished business with Drago?

Yeah, I did. It’s a powerful picture and it’s lived on and it’s survived. It’s timeless in a way; even in the way it was shot. It has stood the test of time whereas some movies from the ’80s haven’t — they just look dated. But Rocky IV still has punch to it, emotionally and visually. Creed II is different, but it still packs an emotional punch — for everyone, really.

It’s really about family; fathers and sons. I think that’s a great thing, especially in today’s world where there’s a lot of sabre-rattling and us versus them talk. There really are no bad guys out there, just a sequence of events. We’re all part of it and that’s how the movie works, too.

Are there multiple layers to this incarnation of Drago? In the years since Rocky IV, his wife has divorced him and he’s been kicked out of Russia.

I hope so. But it does move beyond simple revenge towards the end of the picture, which I liked.