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Michael B. Jordan Shares Why He Wanted To Normalize ASL In ‘Creed III’

The cast also chats about redemption and the difference between Jordan as a performer and a director.

Get ready for another round as Creed is back with its second sequel in Creed III, and a newcomer is looking for revenge.

There are a few special moments in and about the film, with viewers seeing Adonis' (Michael B. Jordan) daughter, Amara Creed (Mila Davis-Kent), with a hearing disability while also marking Jordan’s directorial debut.

The film follows Adonis as a boxing gym owner after leaving the gloves behind and becoming a thriving family man with a booming career. The soft life of the former pro boxer comes to a halt when an old friend is released from jail (Jonathan Majors) with a secret vendetta against Creed, resulting in a rivalry that can only be settled in the ring.

In a conversation with BET.com, Jordan, Majors, and Tessa Thompson discuss inclusivity in Hollywood, redemption, and the difference between Jordan as a scene partner and a director.

BET.com: With this being Michael B. Jordan’s directorial debut, what’s the difference between scene partner Michael and director Michael?

Thompson: He’s a fantastic leader, and it came through while he directed and was a performer. He's one of those actors who comes on set and lightens the room. He brought that into his director role, too. It makes a big difference in not only making a good film but can you make the process for people making this film a good one, which I admire about him.

BET.com: Your character returns for redemption and earns his spot in the boxing world after unfortunate circumstances. Is there a time you had to redeem yourself after a role or anything earlier in your life?

Majors: There’s such a strange transition, sometimes forced through redemption. I would say just apologizing I had one terrible argument with a loved one – I had to come back from that, which takes time and energy.

BET.com: In the film, Creed’s daughter was born with a hearing disability, with the characters actively learning sign language to communicate with her. Why was it essential to add this element to the film, and what do you hope for Hollywood to do moving forward?

Jordan: I thought it was awesome because we didn’t have to point a light at it in this film. In the first film, Apollo falls in love with Bianca, who suffers from progressive hearing loss; in the second film, they have a daughter, and they wonder if will it be hereditary – in the third film, this is how they are with integrating ASL into their lives. We normalized it authentically. I like that I had the opportunity to do that realistically, and as much as I learned from the ASL community, it was tremendous. For healing-able individuals, we sympathize, but we don’t empathize so I was happy to be able to be a part of that conversation in a big way and present to the world on a big scale to show how inclusivity.

Grab your boxing gloves, and your squad ready to head out and watch Creed III on March 3rd.

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