Three years after Sylvester Stallone reprised Rocky Stallone in Creed, 2018’s Creed II brought Dolph Lundgren’s Ivan Drago back into play for the first time since Rocky IV. The sequel saw the man who killed Apollo Creed training his son Viktor to become the heavyweight champ, which of course brought them into conflict with Michael B. Jordan’s Adonis Creed. The story ended on an optimistic note for the father/son duo, and a few years back, word came in that MGM was considering making a Drago spinoff w. Now Lundgren has explained why this spinoff is taking so long to happen, as well as shared some pretty cool “story details.”
In July 2022, it looked as though the Drago spinoff was finally going to move forward when Robert Lawton was hired to write the script. However, by April 2023, Lundgren shared that the script hadn’t passed muster, and those involved were “waiting for a new writer to come in and try to shape it.” Now the actor has revealed that Creed III’s success is the big reason why the Drago spinoff has been put on the back burner, as he said the following while confirming the project is still in development:
Yeah, I think so. MGM was developing the script called Drago about my character and my son. I think what happened was the studio changed leadership, and then Creed III did verywell, so they started preparing for Creed IV. This is last year, and then now there is a problem with a co-star in Creed IV. That storyline they had on the Drago script was interesting, it was kind of a coming to America, kind of immigration angle, with me and the son, and it was pretty cool.
In addition to sharing his opinion on why The Expendables 4 bombed, Dolph Lundgren clarified during his interview with ScreenRant that although the Drago spinoff hasn’t been shelved by any means, Creed III doing so well has prompted MGM to dedicate more attention to making a direct follow-up movie. While the actor didn’t name the “co-star” in question, chances are good he’s referring to Jonathan Majors, who played Damian Anderson in Creed III and was convicted of misdemeanor assault and harassment charges earlier this month. So now it’s unclear where Creed IV stands, but that was enough to push the Drago spinoff to the side.
Additionally, it’s interesting to learn that this project would see Ivan and Viktor moving to the United States post-Creed II. They were last seen in the sequel training together in Ukraine and clearly on better terms with one another, but as Lundgren laid out below, unfortunate circumstances would result in them needing to find a new home:
It just so happened that, in Creed II, we’re in the Ukraine, in the beginning, we’re in Kyiv. That’s where the movie opens, even though it’s not really mentioned too much. But in the version of the script that I read, it starts with a Russian invasion, and in that, we go through some hard, difficult experiences that makes us want to come to America. It was kind of interesting.
Regardless of how the Drago spinoff’s script evolves under the pen of a different writer, I imagine this immigration plot point will be kept in the story given how much Dolph Lundgren approves of it. Beyond that though, it doesn’t sound like there’s any firm time table on when the spinoff will take the next step forward, only that there’s still a good chance it will eventually see the light of day. Other Creed-verse projects reportedly being considered include both live-action and animated TV shows tied to the franchise, as well as a movie centered on Adonis and Bianca’s daughter, Amara.
Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for any more news about the Drago spinoff and the rest of the Creed franchise. Creed III can currently be streamed with an Amazon Prime video subscription, and be sure to see what movies are coming up on the 2024 release schedule.