There's an undeniable grit to the Rocky franchise that hasn't diminished with age. Typically, films from the 70s seem reserved compared to their modern equivalents. Despite laying the groundwork for the gangster genre, The Godfather seems glacially paced and tame when placed against contemporary crime films. The Rocky franchise doesn't have that problem. Every combat sports film and their mother still struggle to match the intensity of any given Rocky movie. As a result, Hollywood just said, "hey, what if we kept making Rocky movies even though Stallone is pushing 80?"
Ryan Coogler's Creed revived the ailing Rocky franchise and even garnered a sequel. In the sequel, Apollo Creed's son was given a chance to avenge his father's death by beating the son of Ivan Drago. Although Creed 2 didn't have the same critical reception as the first film, MGM believes there's enough narrative meat on the bones for a Drago-based spin-off.
The character first made his debut in Creed II as the main opponent against Michael B. Jordan's Adonis Creed, with Rocky veteran Dolph Lundgren reprising his role as the Soviet captain who trains his son Viktor. The story leads on from Ivan Drago's rivalry with Balboa after he killed Adonis' father Apollo Creed during a boxing match. Munteanu will obviously return for Drago as well as Creed III, but there's no news yet on either Lundgren or Stallone's involvement with the title. Robert Lawton has been tapped to write the screenplay following his work on Becoming Rocky, a spec script about the making of the very first Rocky movie.
