Florian Munteanu, the Romanian boxer has grabbed the key role of Ivan Drago’s son in the much-awaited MGM sequel Creed 2. This will be the first movie for the boxer, as reported a short while back by The Tracking Board and acknowledged by star Sylvester Stallone via Instagram. For several months, rumors kept circulating about Ivan Drago’s son being a part of the sequel, and the UFC fighter Sage Northcutt had disclosed during an interview that he gave auditions for the role of Ivan Drago’s son back in November. This is what Sylvester Stallone said via Instagram earlier.
“Congratulations to Florian ‘Big Nasty’ Munteanu for getting the part as IVAN DRAGOS son! 27 years old, 6 feet four, 245 pounds of talent.#mgm #creed #creed2.”
It was reported back in October that filming for Creed 2 would commence in February 2018, however, as per the new report filming will start in March in Philadelphia. Thus, a lot of other casting news might be coming up soon. Michael B. Jordan will once again play Adonis Creed, son of Carl Weathers’ character Apollo Creed from Rocky, and Tessa Thompson will also return to play the role of Adonis’ girlfriend, Bianca. Sylvester Stallone and Dolph Lundgren will also be seen in their Rocky IV characters of Rocky Balboa and Ivan Drago, who had both faced off during the legendary climactic fight of the film after Drago killed Apollo Creed in an exhibition bout. However, there is no information about Brigitte Nielsen’s chances of reprising her character of Ludmilla.
In August last, Dolph Lundgren gave a glimpse of his Ivan Drago workout in a video on Instagram, and Sylvester Stallone had said earlier in that month that he would deliver at least one punch on Drago. Stallone had also confirmed in July that he had wrapped up the screenplay for Creed 2, and there was a time when we felt that he was being considered to helm Creed 2, mentioning on Instagram that he was anticipating “directing and producing” the film. However, a couple of months later, Steven Caple Jr. (The Land) took over the directorial responsibilities of the sequel after being personally chosen by Sylvester Stallone and Michael B. Jordan.
The report also mentions that Creed 2 will depict Adonis Creed’s journey,”inside and outside of the ring as he deals with his newfound fame, issues with his family, and his continuing quest to become a champion.” MGM has fixed a November 21, 2018, release date for Creed 2, which is well timed for the next awards season. The film will release on the Wednesday preceding Thanksgiving, and will compete with Disney’s Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2 and an untitled film from Universal to be directed by Robert Zemeckis. It will also release barely a few days before the highly-anticipated WB film Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find them 2, releasing on November 16.
Steven Caple Jr. will work on a script written by Sylvester Stallone and Cheo Hodari Coker (Luke Cage). The movie’s producers are Irwin Winkler, Charles Winkler and David Winkler who are joining hands with William Chartoff and Kevin King-Templeton. Michael B. Jordan is the Executive Producer. Guy Riedel and Ryan Coogler, the director of 2015 movie Creed, which earned $173.5 million globally against a $35 million besides getting a Golden Globe for Sylvester Stallone as well as a nomination for Oscar for his role of Rocky Balboa. The news about the casting of this 27-year-old Florian Munteanu was first revealed by The Tracking Board. Check out Sylvester Stallone’s Instagram post congratulating the young boxer, who is also called “Big Nasty.”
