Rocky & Donnie Take on the World in Creed (2015)

Set to take place following Rocky IV, Creed follows the story of Adonis “Donnie” Johnson, Apollo Creed’s son. This is a refreshed take on a series of classic movies. Some of the scenes from the Rocky series are still widely known today. “Creed” allows movie fanatics to follow one of their favorite boxing story-lines to present day.

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Plot Summary

After spending much of his childhood in and out of group homes, Adonis “Donnie” Johnson ends up in a fight at a juvenile correction facility in Los Angeles. This is a result of taunting by the other boys about his late mother. Shortly after the fight, Donnie receives a visitor named Mary Anne Creed who he later finds out was married to his father, Apollo Creed. Donnie was the product of an extramarital affair, so Mary Anne Creed is in the middle of a complex situation, but she offers to let Donnie live with her.

Fast forward to Donnie’s adulthood, he is working at a desk job in LA which he truly cannot stand, though he sometimes goes town to Tijuana, MX to compete in boxing matches. One day, he decides to quit his job and pursue boxing more seriously. He heads to the Delphi Gym where his father used to train, offering to take on boxers with the keys to his Mustang as the prize if they can beat him. Though he beats one fighter, his second opponent, Danny “Stuntman” Wheeler, takes him down, claiming victory and Donnie’s car.

Mary Anne Creed

Mary Anne Creed is disappointed in Donnie for fighting because of what happened to Apollo, but nonetheless, Donnie movies to Philadelphia to pursue fighting with a clean slate. His new downstairs neighbor is Bianca, who he first meets when asking her to turn down her loud music late at night.

Once he gets settled, Donnie heads to Adrian’s Restaurant, seeking out Rocky, his father’s boxing nemesis who ultimately became one of his closest friends. Donnie wants Rocky to train him, but Rocky initially refuses. A few days later, in a change of heart, Rocky agrees to train Donnie and Donnie moves in with Rocky to train seriously.

Rocky’s Cancer

As Donnie starts fighting in serious matches, Rocky soon learns that he has Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma but doesn’t want to undergo chemotherapy. In the same time frame, it is outed to the world that Donnie is Apollo’s son, which puts extra pressure on Donnie to live up to the legacy his father left behind.

Donnie has a big fight in Liverpool against Conlan, who is a crowd favorite. At the beginning, Donnie is getting hit by Conlan and struggling to keep up. After remembering why he’s pursuing this world, he gets up and puts up a good fight. Unfortunately, it isn’t enough to defeat Conlan. Though Donnie lost the fight, he gained the respect of Conlan and of the crowd.

Creed – Fun Facts

• Creed is the first film in the “Rocky” series that Sylvester Stallone, the man who plays Rocky, didn’t actually write!
• This is also the first film in the series that Sylvester Stallone doesn’t participate in a fight himself.
• Creed is the follow-up to the 2006 movie “Rocky Balboa”
• Sylvester Stallone produced the film along with original producers Irwin Winkler and Robert Chartoff
• Creed received raves from movie-goers as well as professional critics
• Sly Stallone was nominated for an Oscar as best supporting actor but did win a Golden Globe award for that same category
• In a scene where Adonis is training, he is seen wearing a shirt that reads, “Why do I wanna fight? Because I can’t sing and dance…”. This is the same line Rocky said to Adrian in the original Rocky movie when they were at the ice skating rink
• During the start of production, Stallone’s real-life son Sage died of a heart attack. It was a tremendous personal blow. In his Golden Globe acceptance speech, Sly stated that the movie Creed helped him deal with the tragedy

Creed 2015 Movie Cast

• Michael B. Jordan – Adonis “Donnie”
• Alex Henderson – young Adonis “Donnie” Johnson
• Sylvester Stallone – Robert “Rocky” Balboa
• Tessa Thompson – Bianca
• Phylicia Rashad – Mary Anne Creed
• Tony Bellew – “Pretty” Ricky Conlan
• Graham McTavish – Tommy Holiday
• Wood Harris – Tony “Little Duke” Evers
• Ritchie Coster – Pete Sporino
• Tone Trump – himself
• Brian Anthony Wilson – James

The film was directed by Ryan Coogler, who also worked with Jordan on the acclaimed drama Fruitvale Station.

The film received critical acclaim and was a box office success, grossing over $173 million worldwide.

Sylvester Stallone received critical acclaim for his performance and even earned a nomination for Best Supporting Actor at the 2016 Academy Awards.

The film’s soundtrack features songs from artists such as Future, Meek Mill, and The Roots.

Creed serves as both a continuation of the Rocky saga and a standalone film, introducing a new generation to the inspiring story of an underdog fighting for his dreams.