Drago confirmed for Creed II as Stallone finishes script

In a new Instagram post, Rocky creator Sylvester Stallone confirmed several things about MGM‘s in-development Creed II. For one, that he himself has written the full script, or at least what will serve as the basis for the script, after Ryan Coogler and Aaron Covington wrote the last one by themselves. Second, he has solidified what many had assumed for a while, which is that Dolph Lundgren’s Ivan Drago, and probably his offspring, will be involved in a big bloody battle with Adonis Creed in the ring.

JUST DONE …. if you are curious , around 439 handwritten pages translates into about a 120 page typed screenplay …#writers cramp #rockybalboa #drago #adoniscreed #MGM A post shared by Sly Stallone (@officialslystallone) on Jul 21, 2017 at 4:07pm PDT

With 2015’s Creed earning over $173 million at the worldwide box office and a Best Supporting actor Golden Globe win and an Oscar nod for Sylvester Stallone, MGM was said to be bullish about getting a sequel on the fast track. The original plan was for Creed II to land in theaters in November of 2017, which would not allow Ryan Coogler time to direct given his commitment to deliver Marvel Studios’ Black Panther for a February 16, 2018 release. However, since Stallone has only now finished the script, it is possible Coogler could come back, although he also has the Atlanta school drama Wrong Answer in development with Michael B. Jordan to star.

Even without Coogler directing, the 31-year-old wunderkind will remain onboard as an executive producer and possibly guide another young filmmaker such as himself. Coogler’s previous discussions with Stallone for the next installment had the story potentially mirror Rocky IV, or even take a page from The Godfather Part II playbook and feature recurring flashbacks to Apollo Creed before his death.

“You’ll have him face a different opponent, which I would say is a more ferocious, big Russian,” Stallone said previously. “There’s a lot there.”

Coogler directed Creed from a screenplay he wrote with Aaron Covington, based on characters from the Rocky series written by Sylvester Stallone. The film was produced by Robert Chartoff, Irwin Winkler, Charles Winkler, William Chartoff, David Winkler, Kevin King Templeton and Sylvester Stallone, with Nicholas Stern executive producing.