Back in July 2023, news leaked out that MGM had begun developing a spin-off from Rocky and Creed that would focus on Ivan Drago and his son Viktor. Robert Lawton, writer of the Becoming Rocky documentary, had already written a script. Dolph Lundgren and Florian Munteanu were set to return.
Then… crickets. Despite the radio silence, Lundgren says it is still in active development.
The project was said to build out a backstory about Russian boxer Drago, adding dramatic weight to his appearances in 1985’s Rocky IV and 2018’s Creed II. Lundgren gave more details in an interview with the excellent fellows over at ScreenRant:
“MGM was developing the script called Drago about my character and my son. I think what happened was the studio changed leadership, and then Creed III did very well, so they started preparing for Creed IV.
This is last year, and then now there is a problem with a co-star in Creed IV. That storyline they had on the Drago script was interesting, it was kind of a coming to America, kind of immigration angle, with me and the son, and it was pretty cool.
It just so happened that, in Creed II, we’re in the Ukraine, in the beginning, we’re in Kyiv. That’s where the movie opens, even though it’s not really mentioned too much. But in the version of the script that I read, it starts with a Russian invasion, and in that, we go through some hard, difficult experiences that makes us want to come to America. It was kind of interesting.”
Michael B. Jordan is returning to star in, and direct, Creed IV. That will likely make it to the screen before any Drago-themed spin-off.
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