Fans of the re-boot of the Rocky franchise rejoice – Michael B. Jordan is officially back in the boxing ring as Adonis Creed, a passionate and heroic protégé of Rocky Balboa. MGM and Warner Bros. released the first official poster image (below) with the promise that the trailer for the film will be released later in the week. Mxdwn will keep the readers updated as the trailer drops. The film is set to be released in November.

Ryan Coogler, the writer/director of the original Creed, will not be reprising his roles for the sequel, having been occupied with the production of Black Panther to work on the boxing project. This time, the film is in the hands of an interesting duo: director Steven Caple Jr. and, the man himself, Sylvester Stallone, who is penning the script.

The pair are complete opposites: Caple Jr. is a young, rising director whose only other feature work, The Land, got into Sundance and was picked up and released by IFC Films to meager critical and box office reactions. Stallone, who wrote the original script for the 1976 Rocky when he was 30, has written most of the films in the series. I hope that the combination of old and new will work for the ultimate benefit of the film. Coogler was also a relative unknown, aside from his other B. Jordan collaboration, Fruitvale Station, so it could also be consistent in where the franchise has been going.

Along with the poster, the official synopsis for the film has been released, suggesting that both Adonis and Balboa will be talking a stroll down Memory Lane, re-discovering their initial values:

“Life has become a balancing act for Adonis Creed. Between personal obligations and training for his next big fight, he is up against the challenge of his life. Facing an opponent with ties to his family’s past only intensifies his impending battle in the ring. Rocky Balboa is there by his side through it all and, together, Rocky and Adonis will confront their shared legacy, question what’s worth fighting for, and discover that nothing’s more important than family. Creed II is about going back to basics to rediscover what made you a champion in the first place, and remembering that, no matter where you go, you can’t escape your history.”