Denzel Washington Helped Michael B. Jordan Prepare To Direct ‘Creed III’

Creed III is on its way, and much to the delight of fans of the boxing drama franchise, it now has its first trailer and release date. The film also marks the directorial debut of Michael B. Jordan, who leapt to the opposite side of the camera for the threequel.

Michael B. Jordan broke down the undoubtedly daunting task of shifting from actor to director at a press conference to mark the film’s first trailer, and he gave a lot of credit to Denzel Washington, who directed his previous film A Journal for Jordan. 

“Just got finished working with Denzel, you know, right before this project. So I had that wisdom, you know, and support that was there. So it really helped me out a lot during prep. So I think mentally for me, just taking it a day at a time, but at the same time always planning, you know, 10 steps ahead.”

The Creed actor also found a deep appreciation for meditation over the course of filming the movie. We’d imagine that directing your first movie with a Hollywood-level production budget in a franchise with a legacy for being consistently brilliant would be a lot of pressure, so taking a moment here and there to be mindful was a smart move on Michael B. Jordan’s part!

“Mentally for me, there was nothing I could do to prepare myself for this. Anything I thought I was doing, it was not enough. So the meditation: very helpful. You know, I think meditating was really important for me. Just talking to a lot of directors that have been through this before, really gave me as close of an idea as what the experiences were gonna be, without going through it myself.”

As excited as fans are for Michael B Jordan to face off against Jonathan Majors in the film, a lot of fans have been wondering where Sylvester Stallone is, who didn’t make an appearance in the trailer.

We’ll know for sure if Denzel Washington’s sage advice and Michael B. Jordan’s meditative practices bore fruit when Creed III hits cinemas early next year on March 3. 

Credit: Getty Images / Michael Loccisano / Artur Didyk / Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Creed III is on its way, and much to the delight of fans of the boxing drama franchise, it now has its first trailer and release date. The film also marks the directorial debut of Michael B. Jordan, who leapt to the opposite side of the camera for the threequel.

Michael B. Jordan broke down the undoubtedly daunting task of shifting from actor to director at a press conference to mark the film’s first trailer, and he gave a lot of credit to Denzel Washington, who directed his previous film A Journal for Jordan. 

“Just got finished working with Denzel, you know, right before this project. So I had that wisdom, you know, and support that was there. So it really helped me out a lot during prep. So I think mentally for me, just taking it a day at a time, but at the same time always planning, you know, 10 steps ahead.”

The Creed actor also found a deep appreciation for meditation over the course of filming the movie. We’d imagine that directing your first movie with a Hollywood-level production budget in a franchise with a legacy for being consistently brilliant would be a lot of pressure, so taking a moment here and there to be mindful was a smart move on Michael B. Jordan’s part!

“Mentally for me, there was nothing I could do to prepare myself for this. Anything I thought I was doing, it was not enough. So the meditation: very helpful. You know, I think meditating was really important for me. Just talking to a lot of directors that have been through this before, really gave me as close of an idea as what the experiences were gonna be, without going through it myself.”

As excited as fans are for Michael B Jordan to face off against Jonathan Majors in the film, a lot of fans have been wondering where Sylvester Stallone is, who didn’t make an appearance in the trailer.

We’ll know for sure if Denzel Washington’s sage advice and Michael B. Jordan’s meditative practices bore fruit when Creed III hits cinemas early next year on March 3.