Could 'Creed' Become The Next 'Rocky' Franchise? Star Michael B. Jordan Wants To Return For Sequel

Nine years after the last "Rocky" film was released, "Creed" knocked out audiences everywhere over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. The movie brought together fans of the old boxing films along with a new audience with a different, but familiar boxer to root for. Michael B. Jordan, who plays Adonis Creed in the new movie, said he'd be up for resuming his role in a sequel. Could "Creed" become a present day franchise, just as Sylvester Stallone's movies were?

Jordan told the Associated Press he'd like to return if there is a "Creed 2." He also said it would be exciting to work with co-stars Stallone and Tessa Thompson, who plays Bianca in the film, once again.

"A character so rich as this, and the world he's in, I want to see what happens to him next and what he does," Jordan said.

"Creed" took the iconic "Rocky" movies full circle as Rocky Balboa (Stallone) was no longer a fighter, but a trainer bringing up a fighter, played by Jordan, with as much heart and drive as he once had. Stallone, who wrote the first six "Rocky" movies, took a back seat on writing "Creed" and left it to director Ryan Coogler.

"No, I think to be true to Ryan’s vision, this has to be seen through a younger man’s eyes. Because the world is so radically different and less naive than when I wrote “Rocky,” Stallone told the Wall Street Journal.

If a sequel is made, it is likely Stallone will play Balboa, but it's unclear how many more films the 69 year old would return for. To get him to bring the character back, Coogler told Vulture it took "a lot of time" before he eventually he agreed.

"The legacy of his franchise was so close to him, and the Rocky films have always been inspired by personal situations for him," Coogler said. "So handing over the franchise, and bringing the character out of the ashes -- which was where he was comfortable leaving him at the end of "Rocky Balboa" -- was the biggest thing to get past."

The "Rocky" films make up one of the most successful sports movie franchises of all time. Balboa's story played out over six films from 1976 through 2006. The boxer put his gloves down after his final fight in 2006's "Rocky Balboa," and "Creed" gives birth to a new fighter, Adonis Creed, the son of Balboa's friend and former rival Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers), who audiences everywhere can cheer for.

"Creed" earned $30.1 million in it's opening weekend, finishing third in the box office behind "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2" and "The Good Dinosaur." Despite landing in third, the movie has received dozens of good reviews and currently has an 8.7 rating on IMDb and a 92 percent freshness score on Rotten Tomatoes. Film critic Roger Ebert gave the film four out of four stars and said it's "one of the best films of 2015."

"Creed" is in theaters now. Watch the trailer below: