Ryan Coogler created a "father-and-son" story for ‘Creed’ as a mark of his love for his dad.
The 29-year-old director – whose boxing drama sees Michael B. Jordan’s Adonis ‘Donnie’ Creed get trained to be a fighter by Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky Balboa – attended the European premiere of the movie in London’s Leicester Square on Tuesday (12.01.16) with his dad Ira, and revealed it was their relationship and his father’s love of the ‘Rocky’ franchise that inspired him to write the storyline.
Speaking from the red carpet at the event, he said: "It was my relationship with my dad that motivated me to want to make (the movie), so it was always a father-and-son story for me … He’s the biggest ‘Rocky’ fan in the world, and he means a lot to me."
Coogler also opened up about his dad’s experience with illness and how he wove it into the film’s plot with Rocky being sick.
He shared: "He got really sick round about the time I finished film school. And going through that put me in a real emotional place, and I came up with this story as a way to vent."
Meanwhile, Tessa Thompson – who plays Adonis ‘Donnie’ Creed’s love interest Bianca – added that the young cast veered away from worrying about Rocky’s "legacy" and focused on introducing the iconic character to a new generation of fans.
She said: "We tried not to think too much about the legacy, because I think if we did, we’d all get in our heads and be worried that we couldn’t satisfy it.
"I think for ‘Rocky’ fans, there’s certainly a lot there in that it feels like a classic ‘Rocky’ film, and then I think it also brings in a new generation."
A host of boxers turned out for the premiere including former world heavyweight champion David Haye, retired super middleweight legend Carl Froch and Tony Bellew – who portrays Donnie’s opponent ‘Pretty’ Ricky Conlan in the movie.
Ryan Coogler created Creed in honour of dad
