Ivan and Viktor Drago will be back in Drago – a new spin-off from Rocky and Creed.
According to The Wrap, the upcoming Rocky film is being penned by writer Robert Lawton for MGM and will focus on the Russian father and son after their appearance in Creed II.
The film came about following Lawton’s spec script “Becoming Rocky”, which focused on the making of the first Rocky Balboa film. MGM execs were said to be “impressed” by this, leading to an offer for Lawton to write the upcoming Drago spin-off.
Ivan Drago actor Dolph Lundgren has been teasing a Drago spin-off for some time. “I think there’s some talk about doing a whole spin-off on Drago with MGM,” he said back last year. “So, you may get more of that.”
Creed II starred Michael B. Jordan as Adonis Creed, with Sylvester Stallone playing the young boxer’s mentor as the former Heavyweight champion turned coach, Rocky Balboa. The sequel saw Adonis takes on the son of Ivan Drago – the former Russian champion, Rocky’s nemesis, and the man who ultimately killed Adonis’ father with a knockout blow during an exhibition match in Rocky IV.
Florian Munteanu starred as Viktor Drago and is expected to return in the upcoming Creed III. Creed III has already been pushed back from its November release date and is now expected to debut in March next year.
Although the plot for the upcoming Drago spin-off is firmly under wraps, it looks as though it’s all change for the Rocky Balboa franchise, with Sylvester Stallone stepping away after revealing that he won’t be back for the third Creed movie.
Whether or not Stallone will be back in Drago remains to be seen, but with Stallone still tussling for the rights to the franchise, I can’t help thinking that’s a no-go right now. Still, Michael B. Jordan will be back as Adonis, as well as making his directorial debut with Creed III.
Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.