Creed II is the upcoming eighth installment in the Rocky franchise, set to be released on November 21, 2018. Very soon, as of the day this blog was published. I am excited to see it. Creed was a great movie that featured some of the best acting and writing that the series has ever had. It was written and directed by Ryan Coogler and it follows Michael B. Jordan as Adonis Creed, the son of the deceased Apollo Creed (who we saw tragically die in Rocky IV during a brutal bout with Ivan Drago). Michael absolutely knocks it out of the park. It also sees Sylvester Stallone return to his iconic character, once again playing Rocky Balboa. His appearance hasn't held up with time and all the injuries from filming the previous six movies. His acting, however, really did, seeing how he earned an Oscar nod for his Creed performance. Well, with the upcoming Creed II, we know it's gonna be awesome, but one question has a couple fans buzzing: What will happen to Rocky?
I think our beloved Rocky will be killed off in Creed II. It would make sense from an emotional standpoint, and from a storytelling standpoint. Rocky acts as a mentor/father figure to Adonis. And, given the fates of other mentor/father figure characters like Obi-Wan, Dumbledore, Uncle Ben, and even Rocky III's very own Mickey Goldmill, it's safe to be a little skeptical about what Creed II will do to Rocky himself. And, besides, this is no longer Rocky's story, it's Creed's. Rocky was a vital piece of it, yes, but it's ultimately about Adonis and his adventures. Having Rocky die would be an incredibly emotional way to push him to train harder in order to take on Ivan Drago's son. That is, of course, unless Rocky doesn't die until after the final fight, if at all. Either are possible.
Another reason why the death of Rocky is possible is that, if you remember from roughly the middle of Creed I, Rocky becomes diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma and initially refuses treatment, in easily one of the best-acted scenes in the movie. While, he does eventually decide to accept the treatment, the type of cancer Rocky has is brutal. It might be too late for him. As heartbreaking as it would be to see Rocky Balboa die, I'd rather it be peacefully in a hospital bed after watching Adonis fight on TV, proud of the legacy the two of them left, and knowing he made Apollo proud. It would be heartbreaking, it would be beautiful, and it would just make sense. Or, at the very least, it'd be a more dignified death than Han Solo got.
But, if we're gonna talk logically here, Creed II is most likely gonna have Rocky and Ivan throw down again, given than Dolph Lundgren is returning to reprise the role. They aren't gonna pit these two legendary characters in a scene like the one from the trailer and not do anything with them. And, according to Stallone himself, things are probably going to get violent between the two. His exact words, "I'm gonna punch him. You know I gotta hit Drago once." Now, that very well may have just been Sly telling an interviewer what they wanted to hear for the sake of getting them off of his back. However, based on the look of hatred Rocky and Ivan give each other in the trailer, maybe Sly wasn't just saying nonsense. Could we finally get the long-awaited Rocky/Ivan rematch? Well, Stallone and Lundgren have been training hard to get in physical shape for the movie. Why would they be doing that if they're just gonna be mentors for Adonis and Viktor? Sylvester has a reason, since he's filming another Rambo movie at the moment, but what about Dolph? Yeah, he's gonna be in Aquaman, but what else have you heard about him doing recently?
What'll probably end up happening is this: Rocky and Ivan, along with Adonis and Viktor, will meet each other on accident outside the ring. Tensions will rise, trash will be talked, and Ivan will say something (either about Adrian or Apollo) that'll make either Rocky or Adonis snap and attack him. A fight will break out between the four of them, and Rocky will suffer major injuries that will leave him hospitalized, and he'll later die from those injuries. That wouldn't be the best way for a character as huge and as beloved as Rocky Balboa to go out, but it would make the most sense from a storytelling standpoint. Given his initial refusal of Lymphoma treatment, it's clear that Rocky deep down really doesn't care about whether lives or dies, so having Rocky throw his all into curb-stomping Ivan to defend his best friend or his late wife's honor would be an unsurprising route for the movie to take. I'm not saying it's the best route, but it wouldn't shock me if it happened. Heck, maybe they'll start pummeling each other in the ring. It's possible.
We won't know any of this until the movie comes out, this is purely speculation. But, the topic of Rocky's fate does have some fans talking online, so I thought I'd throw my two cents into the ring. The death of Rocky Balboa would have to be done with dignity, or it shouldn't happen at all. But, here's a fun fact: Sly was toying with the idea of killing Rocky off at the end of Rocky V. In the original ending, Balboa is rushed to the hospital in an ambulance due to severe injuries, but dies before he gets there. Ultimately, though, Sly said "Nah" and rewrote the ending into what we got. So, yeah, the idea of Rocky dying has been passed around before. Could this new movie be the one that finally sees the end of the Italian Stallion? We'll have to wait until Creed II hits theaters on November 21st to find out. If I end up seeing it in the theaters, I'll do a review of it here. The trailers look great. And, truth be told, I'll see anything that has Michael B. Jordan in it. Even Fan4stic. He's that good of an actor.
