Michael B. Jordan will be making his directorial debut with Creed III. As fans welcome this change for the third installment of this film’s franchise, they will also notice the absence of Sylvester Stallone.

With the original film directed by Ryan Coogler, the Rocky spinoff has found huge success, earning Stallone an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of Rocky Balboa, Adonis Creed’s manager.

The 2018 installment gave a cryptic hint that Stallone may be exiting the franchise when Rocky celebrated Adonis defeating Ivan Drago’s son with, “It’s your time now.” 

“I think that Sly let it be known that he wasn’t coming back for this one but I think, you know, his essence and his spirit … there’s always going to be a little bit of Rocky within Adonis,” Jordan stated in an interview with IGN.

“But this is a Creed franchise, and we really want to build this story and this world around him moving forward” he continued. “So, it’s always respect and always a s*it ton of love for what he’s built, but we really want to push and navigate Adonis forward and the family that he created.”

Jordan continued, “Hopefully you guys will love what I’m thinking … what we’re cooking up. I think it’s going to be something special.”

Creed III will hit theaters in November 2022.