With the critical and commercial success of the Creed franchise, and a third film on the way later this year, MGM is now developing a spinoff that will center on the character Drago, according to an exclusive report from The Wrap. Screenwriter Robert Lawton is attached to pen the screenplay for the spinoff film.
Specific plot details of the upcoming project remain unknown, however the story is reported to center on Ivan Drago, portrayed by Dolph Lundgren and his son Viktor Drago, played by Florian Munteanu. Lawton previously directed and wrote the screenplay for Sex & Sushi and penned the script for Crave. The filmmaker's previous involvement with the franchise includes a written spec script for Becoming Rocky, which examined the making of the classic 1976 film. The script would end up causing Lawton to win a 2021 Nicholl Fellowship.
Ivan Drago was first introduced as a main antagonist to the franchise in 1985 with the release of Rocky IV, which pitted him against Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) after causing the death of Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers). Lundgren would eventually return to the role in 2018 with the release of Creed II, which introduced his son, Viktor who faced off against Apollo Creed's son, Adonis Creed, played by Michael B. Jordan. Drago remains one of the most iconic characters from the original series due to his ruthless fighting methods and personal feud with Rocky himself. With a Drago spinoff in the works, fans of the series can potentially be offered a deeper insight into the relationship between both of the characters.
The Creed franchise began in 2015 as a spinoff to the Rocky films, which saw the return of Stallone to his iconic role and introduced Adonis Creed as the lead of the new series. The first film, directed by Ryan Coogler, achieved critical acclaim and earned Stallone an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. A third Creed film is on the way which will be directed by Jordan this time around and will see the return of Viktor Drago. The film will be released on November 23. With the Creed series still keeping a steady momentum alongside the development of a Drago spinoff, the popular boxing franchise doesn't appear to be slowing down anytime soon.
Due to the film's early development stage, no release date or casting has been announced yet. Check out the official trailer for Creed II, which featured the Drago family, below: