Director Ryan Coogler wasn’t a well-known name at the time, nor was star Michael B. Jordan, and the movie was a spin-off from the immensely popular Rocky series, home to some of the greatest sports films ever made.
The question on everyone’s lips was, 'who wants a story about the son of the antagonist from the original Rocky?' The answer, it turns out, was a lot of people as Creed became a box office success, then launching its very own series.
However, what made Creed work wasn’t its Rocky connections, but the fact it was an incredibly well-crafted sports drama that - to excuse the pun - packed a punch.
This is further proven with the upcoming threequel, which unlike the first two films doesn’t feature any characters from the Rocky series – both Sylvester Stallone (Rocky Balboa) and Dolph Lundgren (Ivan Drago) are absent here.
But this isn’t a problem at all as the Creed series is more than capable of standing on its own two feet, with the third instalment once again impressing.
Whilst Creed III delivers all the action and drama you’d expect, it has a different feel to the previous films, and is by far the most emotional one yet.
We rejoin Jordan’s Adonis as he is thriving in both his boxing career and family life. Everything changes when his childhood friend Dame (Jonathan Majors) resurfaces after serving a long prison sentence, emerging eager to prove that he deserves his shot at becoming champion.
Naturally the pair end up in the ring together, but their battle is more than just a boxing fight, it is a deeply personal confrontation with a long history.
Their close yet complex relationship brings raw intimacy to the film, which Majors believes neatly juxtaposes with the huge scale of their face-off.
Speaking to Zavvi, he explained: “This is a natural progression of the series. It is more intimate but also explosive, hitting on both levels. It can be very quiet at times one-on-one then it becomes huge.
"We aren’t fighting in a little town in Mexico like in the first Creed, we are fighting in the Dodgers stadium for the Battle Of Los Angeles. But whilst there are two gladiators there, there are also two little boys.
"It’s a sophisticated and mature version of the Creed character that we are dealing with, and because of that the world around him is different. It’s not his girlfriend anymore, it’s his wife. He’s not trying to be champ, he’s now making champions.”
Dame very much wants to be one of those champions believing that Adonis lived the life he was meant to lead whilst he was stuck behind bars.
He’s angry, he’s driven, and he feels like he has nothing to lose. However, whilst that rage does make him an often volatile figure, Majors plays the character with a beautiful empathy that means you just can’t help but root for him.
Dame believes that attempting to become a boxing champ is his last shot at making something of himself and his life, but on his journey he learns that isn’t necessarily the case:
“Dame has an incredible place in my heart, I love him so much, and I too wanted him to win – and I don’t know if he doesn’t. Something we learn in this movie is that his fight is bigger than boxing, which he begins to realise towards the end.
"I put everything that I could into Dame because I loved him so much on the page, as well as what he represented and who I felt he could speak to.”
The rage and drive that are so central to Dame’s character also inform how he moves in the ring, defining his fighting style. He’s aggressive, insistent, and at times plays it dirty, much to the frustration of his sparring partners.
Majors knew that finding how Dame moves would be crucial to his performance, understanding that it would be hugely informed by his time in prison:
“A lot of it was looking into the psychology of a fighter. Something that is cool about boxing is that you fight the way you live – so with Dame you go forward, forward, forward, which was very much his movement even though he’s encaged.
"He throws up bars because he’s used to it, which is called the shell, and there's a movement called the crab too.
"In the time he was away he got to really study the game – Adonis obviously but Mike Tyson, Marvin Haggler, Evander Holyfield – he studied all these guys and became a student of movement, all of which had a huge influence on his style.
"But he also has swag too, he just loves to move.”
Dame forms a bond with Adonis' wife Bianca, revealing stuff from Creed's past that he had previously kept hidden from his partner.
Naturally Bianca is upset upon discovering Adonis' secret history, struggling to understand why he is refusing to speak to her about it.
It's the source of some conflict between the couple, which comes to a head in an emotional scene where they open up to each other.
Adonis asks Bianca how she finds it so easy to express her difficult emotions, to which she replies that she doesn't, adding that it's never easy.
It's an important turning point for the couple and is a scene that actor Tessa Thompson, who reprises her role of Bianca, actually pitched to the filmmaking team, before drafting it.
Speaking to Zavvi, Thompson explained why she felt it was needed: "It was actually something that I pitched to the writers and then to Mike who let me draft that speech.
"I thought that there was something about Bianca over the course of the film, she does have an ease and strength, but I didn’t want to limit her humanity.
"What about her internal life? We spend so long focusing on Adonis’ journey, I wanted to express that who she is is actually hard earned too – it takes work.
"I’m really glad that it’s in the film as you never know – you try these things and improvise, so I'm glad this made it."
Thompson is right that Bianca has worked hard in her journeys becoming a wife, a mother, and a record producer - and ultimately, in finding herself.
Due to her difficulties with hearing, Bianca has retired from performing and is now producing other artists, which is a change she is still adapting to.
As Thompson tells us, Adonis and Dame aren't the only ones fighting in Creed III, Bianca is as well: "I think that she’s still trying to wrestle with it.
"She’s experiencing something that a lot of us did at the height of the pandemic where folks weren’t working – this idea of who are you outside of what you do.
"For her it’s a beautiful time in her life – she has her gorgeous daughter and she loves producing, but she does miss performing. She’s trying to figure out what that looks like for her and what to do about it.
"I love playing her and the ways in which her journey is reflective of mine or there’s some symmetry. Mike and I always talk about that.
"We have been making these films over the course of eight years so a tremendous amount of growth has happened for us too.
"Every time we come back we meet old friends in the form of Adonis and Bianca, but we also come to it with new energy as we have shifted, changed, and matured ourselves as people. It’s an interesting journey and unlike anything I’ve ever done.
And that journey may not be over yet, as earlier this month Jordan confirmed that a fourth film is happening, replying to IGN's question with the comment "for sure".
The star, who also directed this outing, teased that possible spin-offs could also happen, adding that we should "definitely expect other things around Creed".
Thompson is definitely up for continuing with the series and potentially further expanding the world of Creed, and has an idea of where she could take her character next.
She revealed: "I love playing this role and reuniting with Mike – it really does feel like we have become family and that’s not just Mike and I, so many of our crew return for these films. I’d love to be reunited with them at anytime.
"In regards to Bianca, I’m curious to see what happens. I think for her, contending with building a business and being a businesswoman, I’d love to look at the recording industry, delve further into that world, the complications and challenges there.
"But I think it’s limitless and I’m curious to see where it continues."
So are we Tessa, so are we.
Creed III is released in UK cinemas on 3rd March.Shop our range of Rocky and Creed merchandise.
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