After his splashy Men’s Health profile broke the internet last week—those muscles!!!—there’s finally footage of Jonathan Majors making his debut in the Creed movie universe. (Well, the Rocky movie universe, but it’s all about Adonis now.) The trailer for Creed III, which was released Tuesday, introduces Majors as Damian Anderson, an old pal of Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan) who has recently been released from prison.
For his part, Donnie is now married to Bianca (Tessa Thompson) and they have a daughter. Things seem to be good in both the houses of Rocky (Sylvester Stallone, who tragically won’t appear in the new film) and his mentee.
“I spent the last seven years of my life living out my wildest dreams,” Donnie narrates in the trailer. “Bianca, Rocky, my dad, it was built on their shoulders.”
Until: The return of Damian, who has been in prison for 18 years. Damian claims he and Donnie used to be “like brothers.” Now, he’s back and ready to fight. Though the pair have a dramatic history, Donnie worries that Damian is too risky to partner with—he’s trying to hurt people in the ring, and it’s getting tricky for Donnie to keep defending him. Their friendship spirals out of control, and it’s time for them to throw down in the ring.
Not only is Majors joining the Creed franchise, Majors has also entered the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Kang, an evil mastermind introduced in the finale of Loki who will also appear in Ant-Man: Quantumania. As anyone who has seen any Marvel movie knows, actors who are cast typically bulk up to convince viewers of their superhuman abilities. Majors put plenty of bodybuilding work in for both his Creed and MCU roles.
“I’ve always been athletic, but these are body roles—where the body is part of the given circumstances,” Majors told Men’s Health. “Creed taught me things about my craft, my body, and the marriage of the two. There’s levels to this shit.”
If the footage of his jaw-dropping muscles in the Creed III trailer is any indication, this is next-level shit.
In addition to returning as Adonis Creed, Michael B. Jordan will make his directorial debut on Creed III. The first Creed was helmed by Black Panther’s Ryan Coogler, while Steven Caple Jr. directed the sequel.
Creed III will premiere in theaters on March 3, 2023.
