EXCLUSIVE: Ryan Coogler Talks Michael B. Jordan Directing Creed III

Michael B. Jordan takes over as director in Creed III, but we got the chance to hear from the man who kicked-off the Creed franchise, Ryan Coogler. Coogler directed the first film in the franchise and is now back as producer and writer for Creed III.

During his chat, Coogler talked watching Jordan step into the role of director and if he always knew Jordan would take on a directing role. Check out what he had to say below.

How was it to watch Michael B. Jordan step into the director role?

“It was just great to watch Mike work. It’s super-rewarding to support filmmakers. It gives you a different type of creative fulfillment and I love it. I was always happy to get the text messages or to come by. And you had a great editorial team. Performances were great. Script was great. It was very, a satisfying experience to be involved and to help him realize his vision.”

You and Michael have worked with each other for now over a decade. What do you like most about working with each other?

“That’s a good question. I think it changes. You know, like over 10 years, relationships change. People change. And what was best about working with him when we first started has shifted now. I mean, now, not it’s the fact that I know him really, really well. It’s an added color that comes with that. So when you know somebody and you see him doing something new and excel at it, it gives you a different type of joy.

Like, when I first met him, I knew he could act. It wasn’t like, ‘Oh, man, Mike did a great job acting.’ Like, it’s not a surprise, you know? But now in seeing the growth and the shifts and seeing him knock it out of the park in each thing, not without struggles. Not without going to the mat and having to get back up. It’s satisfying. It’s rewarding. It’s affirming. You meet actors, I thought this way about Tess [Tessa Thompson], I felt this way about Jonathan [Majors], and I talk about authorship. But I meet them, and I say, ‘Oh, I think this person is a director.’ Like, they’re acting now, but I could see a world where it’s directed by Tessa Thompson, directed by Jonathan Majors. And me, as a filmmaker, I get excited about these movies. ‘Cause I want to watch them.

And to see this happen and it be affirmed, that suspicion I have about this creative 10 years later, it’s like, aw, yeah, he had it in him. And that’s fantastic.”

Creed III hits theaters tomorrow, March 3.
Photo credit: MGM

*This interview has been edited for length and clarity