Creed 2 Trailer: Michael B. Jordan Steps Back Into The Ring

Know his name. 

MGM and Warner Bros. have released the first trailer for Creed 2, formally known as Creed II (gotta maintain the Roman numeral numbering from the Rocky franchise it spins off from), and it packs a serious punch straight out of the gate. 

No, seriously — in the first few seconds of the trailer, Michael B. Jordan's Adonis Creed falls to the mat of a boxing ring after taking a swing from his off-screen opponent. He wakes up sometime later in a hospital bed, with Tessa Thompson's Bianca standing over him and reminding him of his strength to carry on. 

We then hear more powerful words from another familiar voice: it's Sylvester Stallone's Rocky Balboa, Adonis' mentor, telling the ambitious fighter that there may be rules in the ring, but in the outside world, there's no directives or decrees anyone can follow — and that leaves people vulnerable to the "cheap shots" life takes at them. 

The biggest shot Adonis will have to dodge? Facing off against Vitor Drago, played by the real-life Romanian boxer Florian "Big Nasty" Munteanu, the son of Dolph Lundgren's Ivan Drago, the fighter who delivered a fatal blow to Adonis' father Apollo Creed, portrayed in the Rocky series by Carl Weathers. (Ivan killed Apollo during Rocky 4, leaving him to die in Rocky's arms.) Adonis isn't willing to let history repeat itself, appears determined to avenge his father's death, and wants desperately to live up to his expectations — but Rocky warns him that Vitor is dangerous and has absolutely nothing to lose, whereas Adonis has so much more at stake. 

The trailer goes on to tease Adonis' training and his heart-to-heart conversations with Bianca, as well as hint that there's much more Adonis is dealing with than just the downfall of his father.

Check it out above. 

As indicated in the previously released synopsis for Creed 2, which was unveiled alongside the sequel's first poster, the film will also explore the relationship between Adonis and Rocky as the young boxer readies himself for his battle against Vitor. The two will "confront their shared legacy, question what's worth fighting for, and discover that nothing's more important than family" — all while Rocky proves to Adonis that becoming a champion isn't simply about being the best, and that no matter where he goes and what he does, he'll never escape his history. 

Stallone was actually set up to direct and produce Creed 2 at first, but he subsequently stepped down and let The Land filmmaker Steven Caple Jr. take his place at the helm. Some were already unsure if the sequel would live up to its predecessor without original Creed director Ryan Coogler (the mind also behind Marvel's massively successful Black Panther), and hearing that Stallone, the man who has lived and breathed Rocky movies since 1976, had backed out only intensified that worry. But judging by this first trailer for Creed 2, it looks like Caple Jr. did a bang-up job as director and that the follow-up film could be even better than the original. 

 Creed 2 will hop out of the ring and into theaters on November 21.