Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) has announced the release of "Creed 2" on Nov. 21, 2018.
This means the highly anticipated sequel will be released right before Thanksgiving 2018, just about the same time "Creed" hit cinemas two years ago.
"Creed 2" will once again star Sylvester Stallone as Rocky Balboa, the trainer and mentor of Michael B. Jordan's Adonis "Donnie" Creed who is the son of Balboa's late friend and former rival Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers).
There is a lot of expectation for the sequel, after the critical and box-office success of "Creed," which raked in $173 million worldwide with only a $35 million budget. Stallone also earned a Golden Globe and an Academy Award nomination for his supporting role in the film.
The first installment was written and directed by Ryan Coogler, whose father is an avid fan of the "Rocky" franchise. Coogler, however, has been very busy helming Marvel's "Black Panther" in the past two years, pushing Stallone to take over.
In an Instagram post, the 71-year-old actor announced that he will be directing and producing the second installment of the sports drama movie with Jordan, who he called "incredibly talented." Basing from the hashtags, it looks like the duo is training hard and working out before they start filming next year.
The plot for the upcoming film has yet to be revealed. Stallone, however, shared that it will be about Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren), a Russian boxer who killed Apollo in a brutal match in the 1985 film "Rocky IV."
According to previous reports, Lundgren has been training hard to make a comeback as Drago. Now, fans are speculating that the story of "Creed 2" will be about Donnie avenging his father's defeat and death.
With the release date now out, "Creed 2" will be competing with Disney's animated adventure sequel "Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2" and the still untitled "Marwencol," a true-story project from director Robert Zemeckis.
