In Creed III, Adonis and Amara’s relationship should be similar to Rocky and Robert’s. Adonis will have to decide what truly matters most.
In the upcoming film Creed III, it would be better if Adonis and his daughter’s dynamic is more similar to that of Rocky and his son’s, despite what Creed II implies. Creed II further examines Rocky’s relationship, or lack thereof, with his son Robert. Robert often resents Rocky for his dedication to boxing and how he would sometimes express more interest in the life of his mentees than his own flesh and blood. Throughout the second installment in the franchise, Balboa reflects on this and expresses to Creed that he doesn’t want the young boxer to make the same mistakes with his new daughter, Amara.
Amara and Bianca are why Adonis fights. Rocky shows him what’s really important in life and it’s not all the championship belts and prize money—it’s family. In the closing scenes of Creed II, Adonis visits his father’s grave for the first time and introduces his own family. This scene suggests that in Creed III and later installments in the Rocky saga, Adonis won’t make the same mistakes that Rocky did and his relationship with his daughter Amara will be better for it.
Adonis and Amara’s relationship would actually make for a better and more compelling story if it is similar to Rocky and Robert’s relationship. Creed III and later films will most likely show Amara growing up to want to be a fighter like her father, but if she instead disapproves of his boxing, it would again force Adonis to evaluate what’s really important in life. Creed would then have to choose between his boxing career and Amara, or risk having a strained relationship with his daughter. The complexity of this type of father-daughter relationship would make a much more interesting story than simply having Adonis train Amara to be fighter.
Forcing Adonis to confront the best and worst aspects of himself and decide what’s truly most important to him is exactly what Creed III should do. Rocky did his best in Creed and Creed II to show his apprentice what really matters in life, and making Adonis come face to face with the realization of choosing between fighting and family would be the ultimate payoff. He would surely choose family, but exploring this father-daughter dynamic would be a new step for the franchise and could further separate Adonis from both Rocky and his father, Apollo.
Details on Creed III’s plot are still unknown, but this is the direction the film should take for a more complex and compelling story. In addition to separating himself from Rocky and his father, portraying this relationship would also seek to separate Creed III and the Creed films from the rest of the Rocky franchise. This may not be the direction the film ends up taking, but the franchise would be better for it.
