CELEBRITIES
Jordan, Thompson explain why ‘Creed II’ leaves Philly
There’s a scene in “Creed” that may be the greatest promotional ad for Philadelphia ever conceived.
Los Angeles boxer Adonis (Michael B. Jordan) has come here to train, and has fallen for Philly-raised Bianca (Tessa Thompson), and he’s standing in her apartment complex working up the nerve to knock on her door.
As he does, another dude passes him in the hallway and says, “Good luck, man.”
Luminous singer/songwriter Bianca is understandably a mini-celebrity in the building, and the idea that Philadelphia is home to such lovely and creative people is part of the landscape of “Creed,” and part of the ongoing narrative of the “Rocky” films, in which the city is consistently one of the most interesting and evolving characters.
So it is with great sadness that we report that in “Creed II,” Adonis goes home to California, and Bianca goes with him, after saying she’s done everything she can do in Philly.
I tell Thompson — who reconvened here with cast and crew to talk about the movie — that the wound left by those words is likely to cut deep.
Her response: Bianca has left Philadelphia, but the city will never leave her.
“In Bianca’s mind, it’s not about Philly, which she loves. It’s more about Bianca, who is an artist, and what people do when they are trying to succeed in that realm,” she said.
In another arena, so to speak, which places her character on a parallel track with Adonis. That’s what the “Creed” movies aim to do — build a romance between equals, each struggling and competing in their own space.
If Bianca is being true to herself in “Creed II,” so is Adonis, who is a Los Angeles guy, and who wants to go home, said star Michael B. Jordan.
“We wanted to be honest about Adonis, too, and if you look at his roots and where’s he’s from, it’s Los Angeles. He came to Philly with a purpose, and sought out Rocky, and while we were mindful of that tradition of making Philadelphia a character in the films, we also wanted to do justice to Adonis by making the story follow his true path as well.”
And that’s LA, where he reunites with his mother (Phylicia Rashad) and starts training for his next big fight — with the son (Florian Munteanu) of the man (Dolph Lundgren) who killed his father in the ring, picking up the story from “Rocky IV.”
Director Steven Caple Jr., who took the reins from Coogler (he retains a story credit and executive producer in “II”) said Adonis’ middle name is literally “Hollywood.”
“When I met with Sly and with Mike, we all agreed we need to honor the franchise but distinguish between the films. ‘Creed’ is a spinoff, but ‘Creed’ is ‘Creed,’ and Adonis is going to need his own lane. His middle name is Hollywood. How do we get him back there? That was one of our goals in ‘Creed II,’ ” said Caple, who paid his respects to Philadelphia by adding a sequence of Bianca taking a limo to Philadelphia International Airport and looking wistfully at her hometown as it whizzes by out the window.
So “Creed” is “Creed,” and in “Creed II” he is home.
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