Is 'Creed' based on a true story? Know more about Michael B Jordan's hit sports drama

Ryan Coogler's Creed brought together two of the most famous celebrities to create one of the top ten films of 2015. The movie sees the Rocky franchise branching out and having Michael B Jordan in the lead as Apollo Creed's son, Donnie Creed, with Sylvester Stallone's Rocky as a mentor. The movie was helmed by Coogler who also wrote the screenplay along with Aaron Covington.  

The movie has received a rating of 7.6 out of 10 stars on IMDb and a 95% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Along with that, the movie has earned its makers and cast members more than 20 awards. Michael B Jordan's character Donnie Creed is the main character who explores the life of an African American kid in Los Angeles, California, who must struggle to become a professional boxer just like his father, Apollo Creed. The story's depth has made the audience wonder, is Creed based on a true story? 

Is Creed based on a true story?

With Creed, director Ryan Coogler brought back the Rocky franchise and introduced a new twist to the movie series created by Sylvester Stallone. Stallone's Rocky series, which consisted of six movies, showed Stallone in the lead as Rocky Balboa. One other character was a major part of the movie's franchise, Apollo Creed, played by Carl Weathers. The characters are completely fictional, which means Creed is not based on a true story.

In Coogler's movie, he wanted to give a tribute to his father, who is a big Rocky fan. According to a report by The Wrap, Coogler's father suffered from a medical condition that made his muscles reduce in size. At the time, Coogler was preparing for his debut movie Fruitvale Station, when he got the idea. Coogler wondered if one of his father's heroes too got a similar condition and had a young man enter his life and change it.    

Soon, he used his knowledge of the Rocky movie series and added his own direction to create Creed. The director explained that even though he didn't direct any films before he went to Sylvester Stallone with the idea, the latter was impressed by Fruitvale Station and agreed on doing the project. Ryan Coogler further went onto say that the movie was emotional for his father who was touched by many of the scenes shown in the movie. 

Three years after the successful release of Creed, Sylvester Stallone and Michaell B Jordan starred in Creed 2, reprising their roles as Rocky and Donnie Creed, respectively. The movie went on to become a hit among fans and critics. Creed 3 will be releasing on November 23, 2022, with Michael B. Jordan making his debut as a director. Creed is available to watch on Amazon Prime Video.

• Image: Still from Creed