Creed II director says he thought about including Mr. T’s Clubber Lang

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

CREED II brought back Rocky’s (Sylvester Stallone) most notable opponent from the original franchise, Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren), the man who killed Adonis Creed’s (Michael B. Jordan) father, Apollo (Carl Weathers), in the ring. The series has had plenty of boxing adversaries for Stallone to punch over the years, and in a new interview director Steven Caple Jr. revealed that he toyed with the idea of bringing back another colorful character, Clubber Lang, famously played by the one and only Mr. T in ROCKY III.

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Caple was speaking about CREED II (which made $55 million over five days last week) with Uproxx recently, and while this movie pit Creed against Drago’s son Viktor (Florian Munteanu), the question arose regarding if Lang also had a kid somewhere itching for a shot at the champ. To that, Caple said he has indeed toyed with that very idea.

I’m not going to lie. There was a moment where I got pretty stingy and was thinking about Clubber Lang. I was like, “Dang, wouldn’t it be cool if we brought in Clubber Lang? And I think there was a version of this where Mike [Jordan] was also talking about it too. Like him having a daughter or something like that out in the West or New Mexico. We were playing with a lot of different ideas. But no, I don’t know if Clubber Lang will come back.

He continued, saying how it’s nice to take characters like Drago and explore them in a modern, grounded setting outside of the absurdity of their 80s outings. That applies to Lang as well, and Caple says it could be interesting to bring him back and develop him in a new movie.

I do, too. He’s an interesting character. And just to see where he’d be at now, where they try make him grounded and seeing where Mr. T is at. Again, nostalgia and just finding a way to bring back characters, but in 2018 and 2019 they have a more modern day level and will always be interesting. You know what I mean? I love challenges like that. Trying to make Drago human. How to make Clubber Lang human. Like, where is he at today? Those are the interesting routes to go in developing characters.

Caple then said there was a “strong possibility” they could explore that route further, but at this point, it’s still unclear even if the director will return for more outings. He said he would like to come back for another round, and that it would likely depend on how the movie did at the box office. This interview was done before the movie came out, and now it’s a bona fide hit with both critics and audiences, and it’s made $55 million so far, and at this rate will likely top the first CREED. So, yeah, perhaps an offer to come back is on the table.

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As for Caple, I really liked what he did with this sequel would like to see him return to the chair and take the series forward. As for the return of Lang, that I am not really on board with. With Drago, it makes sense, as his fate is tied directly with Rocky and Creed's in an emotional, impactful way. But I see little reason to bring back Lang other than fan service. These movies should be about carving out Creed's own path, and not about resurrecting Rocky's past. Now that the Drago story is done (maybe?) Creed should get a new, original foe, not the Son of Lang, no matter how cool his mohawk and sideburns are. 

CREED II is in theaters now.