Every Rocky Character Who Returned In The Creed Movies

Every Rocky Character Who Returned In The Creed Movies

The Creed movies pay tribute to the past by incorporating numerous Rocky characters, from Stallone’s title role to smaller figures like Ludmilla.

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The Creed series tells the stories of the next generation of boxers following the initial Rocky series, and as such brings back a number of characters from the original franchise. Michael B. Jordan stars as Adonis Creed, with characters from the first six Rocky movies led by Sylvester Stallone returning to act as mentors or adversaries. In the process, the audience gets to see how the passing of decades has treated beloved characters and the iconic action stars who played them.

2015’s Creed introduced Jordan as the illegitimate son of Apollo Creed, as he rose through the boxing ranks from seedy clubs to fighting the world champion. Ryan Coogler’s gritty direction and the involvement of real boxers and sporting figures helped lend a greater sense of realism to the franchise, and modern stars like Jordan and Tessa Thompson helped revitalize the franchise for a new direction. Stallone was one of multiple characters who reprised their roles, passing the torch while adding new depth to their classic roles.

Creed II, released in 2018, saw Adonis facing the challenges of being a defending world champion and new father. The sequel also incorporated more of the franchise’s history, in particular the bombastic Rocky IV. The climax saw Adonis battling Viktor, the son of Ivan Drago, in a fusion of the franchise’s history and the present. With a third film already scheduled, and Jordan interested in making more, Creed has introduced a new future for the franchise while paying homage to its past.

The two Creed movies released so far have attained critical and commercial success, with both ranking among the best Rocky movies. Part of their success is the way in which they honor the franchise’s past while passing the torch to a new set of stars, a task frequently attempted in long-running series but rarely this successfully. The incorporation of classic Rocky characters is a key part of why Creed and Creed II have been so accepted by fans.

Rocky Balboa

The biggest returning character in the Creed series is, of course, Rocky Balboa, Sylvester Stallone’s protagonist of the original movies. In Creed, Balboa is retired and living as a local legend in Philadelphia, operating his own restaurant. He serves as a reluctant mentor to Adonis, eventually agreeing to coach the son of his late rival and cornering him in his battle against “Pretty” Ricky Conlan. Rocky also has his own arc in the movie as he is reluctant to seek treatment for his lymphoma, the same disease that claimed his wife, Adrian. With the encouragement of Adonis and the example he sets of fighting against the odds, Rocky ultimately decides to get medical help. Stallone’s performance as the aged Rocky was critically acclaimed, earning him an Academy Award nomination and a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor.

Rocky continues to act as a mentor for Adonis in Creed II, trying to dissuade him from pursuing a rivalry with Viktor Drago. Their disagreement leads to Rocky briefly severing their partnership before ultimately being persuaded to step into his corner again. Again, Rocky has his own personal struggle, this time his attempt to reunite with his distant son, Robert. The film ends with Rocky meeting with Robert and seeing his grandson Logan for the first time. Stallone has said that Creed II was his final appearance as Rocky, but the movie leaves open the possibility of him returning for Creed III.

Ivan Drago

The antagonist of Rocky IV, Ivan Drago is crucial to the plot of Creed II, which sees Adonis squaring off with his son Viktor in an attempt to avenge his father’s in-ring death. Ivan acts as Viktor’s trainer and manager, serving as a foil for Rocky Balboa once again. The movie also reveals that after his defeat to Rocky in the fourth movie, Ivan was cast out from Russian society, losing all of his state support as well as his marriage. Creed II provides a glimpse of a more weathered but also more emotionally mature Drago, trying to stop his son from making his same mistakes.

Dolph Lundgren reprises his Rocky IV role three decades later in the new franchise. Lundgren’s surprisingly subtle performance won plaudits from critics and, along with the script, helped to make Ivan Drago into a human being instead of just a symbol of Soviet-era evil. Creed II’s Ivan is a man torn between the resentment of the people who ostracized him and his desire for the money and glory they can once again offer if his son is successful. His appearance introduces new wrinkles to the iconic character.

Ludmilla Drago

In Rocky IV, Ludmilla is Ivan Drago’s sinister partner, pushing him further in his pursuit of athletic perfection. During the movie’s climax, as Rocky begins to turn the tide against Ivan Drago, Ludmilla turns away in disgrace. Creed II reveals that she left her husband while Viktor was still an infant because of Ivan’s failure to defeat Rocky and subsequent exile. However, Brigitte Nielson reprises her role as Ludmilla for one memorable scene.

Over dinner, Ludmilla offers her son and ex-husband a chance at the fame and fortune that Ivan once experienced. Ivan is interested in what she can offer, but Viktor is resentful of her and Russian society at large for abandoning them. While brief, Ludmilla’s reappearance is vital for the Dragos’ character development, and Nielson’s imperious performance helps to make the stakes for the climactic second-generation fight clear.

Mary Anne Creed

Mary Anne is Apollo Creed’s former wife, although not the mother of his illegitimate child, Adonis. She is one of the few characters to be re-cast over the course of the Rocky franchise, being portrayed by Lavelle Roby in the original Rocky, Sylvia Meals in Rocky II and IV, and Phylicia Rashad in Creed and Creed II. Mary Anne was a fairly small character in the Rocky movies but takes on a larger role in Creed, serving as a wary guardian of her husband’s legacy.

In the opening scene of Creed, set in 1998, we see Mary Anne meet with Adonis in prison and agree to adopt him, a decision which is suggested to steer him away from a dangerous path. Mary Anne initially doesn’t support Adonis in his boxing career, given what happened to his father, but by the end of the movie, she comes around and sends him a set of trunks with the same stars and stripes design that Apollo wore. In Creed II, Rashad returns as Mary Anne, trying to help Adonis navigate his relationship with Bianca.

Robert Balboa

Rocky’s son Robert Balboa, also known as Rocky Jr., was born in Rocky II and appeared in every following Rocky movie, played by a succession of child actors, including Stallone’s son Sage. Robert first becomes a major character in Rocky V, where he has to deal with his father’s difficulties accepting retirement and obsessive focus on training Tommy Gunn. Rocky Balboa features an adult Robert played by Milo Ventimiglia, who is an accountant and has a strained relationship with his father.

Evidently, that relationship has deteriorated further by the time of Creed, as the two are no longer talking. In Creed II, however, Ventimiglia makes a brief appearance as Robert in the film’s conclusion, reuniting with his father in Vancouver. The scene also introduces Robert’s son and Rocky’s grandson, Logan. The reunion is designed to provide a conclusion for both characters after decades of difficulty relating to each other.

The Ghosts

Of course, there are no literal ghosts in the mostly grounded world of Rocky (improbable fights and amorous robots aside), but the memory of characters from the original series haunts the Creed movies even if the actors don’t return. Most notable is the specter of Apollo Creed, whose legacy his son Adonis tries desperately to live up to. Rocky’s wife Adrian, who passed away between Rocky V and Rocky Balboa, is not forgotten, with Rocky returning frequently to her grave. Apollo’s old trainer Duke is also memorialized through photographs and through his son “Little Duke,” who also follows in his father’s footsteps by helping to train Adonis.

The Creed series’ use of past characters, whether in the form of returning actors or references to past events, helps to create continuity in the Rocky movies over the eight films and 42 years that the franchise spans to date. It also offers veteran action stars like Stallone and Lundgren a chance to grow their characters, show their development as actors, and say farewell to their iconic characters. It is this respect for the past while still focusing on the future that has made the Creed movies so successful.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/rocky-creed-movies-characters-actors-return/

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