According to Deadline, Warner Bros. is in talks with The Last Black Man in San Francisco breakout star Jonathan Majors to go toe to toe with Michael B. Jordan in Creed III. It is not official, but Majors is currently in negotiations according to many sources.

This is yet another big blockbuster for the rising star as he recently led HBO’s Lovecraft Country that garnered a lot of success as well as his soon-to-be villainous role as Kang The Conqueror in the MCU flick Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. That character will most likely be in further installments of the MCU. In the comics, Kang is a distant relative of Reed Richards, who will appear in Jon Watts’ Fantastic 4.

If Majors does take on this role in Creed III it will be a huge step in his career. As actors like Carl Weathers and Dolph Lundgren have been the main villains in the franchise over the years and become huge stars since. Majors brings a lot to everyone of his role he inhabits, so it will be interesting to see if he is a fleshed out villain or just someone for Adonis Creed to punch.

This film will also mark Michael B. Jordan’s directorial debut. This is an important step for the long running franchise. Franchises that rely too heavily on bringing back characters, locations, and storylines are doomed to fail eventually. Similar to humanity, franchises must evolve.

As evolution goes long-time cornerstone of the franchise Sylvester Stallone will not appear in this film, which does not rule out his return in a future installment of the franchise.

Majors could join a cast that includes returning members Michael B. Jordan, Tessa Thompson, and Phylicia Rashad as Mary Anne Creed.

Creed III is set to release on November 23, 2022.