How The Creed Franchise Can Move On Without Jonathan Majors

After the critical and commercial success of 2023’s Creed III, it was all but a matter of time before MGM Pictures moved forward with Creed 4, but the result of Jonathan Majors’ trial brings into question the future of his character in the franchise. The follow-up to 2018’s Creed II, Creed III, sees Michael B. Jordan as the semi-retired light heavyweight boxing champion Adonis “Donnie” Creed, and his struggles maintaining his family life with his professional life. His issues are further exasperated when Damian “Diamond Dam” Anderson, a childhood friend and troubled young man, re-enters Creed’s life – bringing with him a heavy load of baggage.

Although Creed attempts to help Damon get back on his feet, his former best friend’s unresolved trauma makes him far too great of a liability, thus resulting in the two men taking their problems inside the ring. While Creed III‘s box-office success preemptively decided viewers would get more sequels in the Creed franchise, Majors’ current issues bring into question how the upcoming Creed 4 will handle his absence. Jonathan Majors has been found guilty of harassment and assault, with a sentencing hearing scheduled for February 6. Damon likely won’t return, but there are a few ways Creed 4 can handle Majors’ exit from the franchise while the fourth entry is still in development.

Jonathan Major’s Creed III Role Can Be Recast In Creed 4

Creed III suggested Damian would return in future installments

Jonathan Majors has been fired from Marvel and will not reprise his role as Kang the Conqueror, which may be recast. MGM Studios could follow suit with Major’s Damon role in Creed 4. Despite Damian losing the climactic battle against Jordan’s Creed, Cred III‘s ending strongly implies that Damon and Creed will be capable of mending their troubled relationship. As such, it wouldn’t be a stretch to assume that Majors would be brought back on for future installments, with Damian now being an ally to Adonis.

However, assuming that Majors won’t be brought back on to star alongside Jordan in Creed 4, it is possible that Creed 4 will simply recast the role with either another established, quality Black actor, or they’ll take a chance on a rising star to portray the franchise’s most recent fighter. While it seldom works to satisfactory effect, Hollywood has relied on recasting efforts in the past to ensure a franchise carries on despite the real-life issues associated with a particular movie’s star or stars. That said, considering Adonis’ story does not rely on Damian to continue, the franchise might want to go with a simpler approach.

Creed 4 Can Create A New Villain Altogether

Adonis can see his legacy threatened by an even greater foe

If Damian doesn’t return for Creed 4, another possible avenue is that the sequel will introduce a brand new character to serve as either a villain or friend to Adonis. As seen in the Rocky movie franchise, the legendary boxer Rocky Balboa fought different opponents in each installment, thus challenging him in different ways, both physically and mentally. As interesting of a character as Damian was, especially given Creed‘s subtext about Black men being held back from achieving greatness because of their past traumas, a new boxer of equal or greater boxing skill challenging Creed’s championship is another great way to preserve the franchise.

Creed 4 Might See Adonis Retire For Good

Creed 4 could include a time skip and new characters

Another alternative is that Jordan’s Creed could finally retire from his career as a professional boxer, either devoting his time completely to managing up-and-coming boxing talent or mentoring already established boxers. While Creed III dabbled with the idea of Creed stepping away from the ring and devoting more of his time to family and to developing other boxers’ careers, Creed 4 could go all the way with it. Furthermore, Creed 4 could see a time skip in which Creed and Bianca’s daughter, Amara, is now a fledgling champion dealing with her own troubles, as she’s seen struggling with her temper in Creed III.

While there are still plenty of options for Creed 4 to consider, ignoring Damian altogether can create an “elephant in the room” scenario for the movie. However, a time skip focusing more on Amara could work, even more so because whatever happened between Adonis and Damian during those years would not have to be addressed. Furthermore, with the glaring lack of proper female representation in boxing movies, pivoting the franchise in a direction that sees a well-written female lead could inject the Rocky/Creed franchise with new blood. Naturally, Amara, or any other legacy character, would have their own antagonists to face, meaning Creed 4 would get to introduce a brand new set of characters.