Actor Michael B. Jordan has made no bones about the anime influences that he brought to the feel of Creed III. He’s even gone on to mention that he looked to Dragon Ball Z and Naruto for inspiration for how he blocked the fight scenes between his titular Adonis Creed and Jonathan Majors’ Damian. But it’s more than the feel, it’s also about the look.
In the first movie, Adonis wore simple white trunks, and for the sequel, trunks that belonged to his father, Apollo (played by Carl Weathers in the original Rocky franchise). For the third installment, Jordan wears gear inspired by an all-time anime classic, Akira.
Costume designer and concept artist Raphael Imhotep (Moon Knight, Jupiter’s Legacy) posted Jordan’s trunks for the movie, which take a visual cue from Kaneda’s jacket from Akira. Imhotep and fellow costume designer Lizz Wolf (Pacific Rim, Expendables) pitched the idea to Jordan and he went with it.
“So, [Lizz] hits me one Sunday afternoon in 2021 and was like: ‘Raph! Michael loves anime so much, what if we pitch him some Akira-inspired shorts?’,” he tweeted. “We took inspo from the design lines of Kaneda’s classic fit, and he loved it!”
So, @thebigbadwolf44 hits me one Sunday afternoon in 2021 and was like: ‘Raph! Michael loves anime so much, what if we pitch him some Akira inspired shorts?’ We took inspo from the design lines of Kaneda’s classic fit, and he loved it 💊 #CreedIII pic.twitter.com/Hl7HlBHxsT
— It’s Still Raph 💰 (@Jehutysan) March 3, 2023
The trunks are ribbed on the side that mimics the jacket’s sleeves. The trunks are colored in three different shades of red, with Creed’s name featured in a black-to-red gradient around the waist.
Creed III already had a pretty good preview night with $5.5 million and looking to take the top slot at the weekend box office with an estimated $40 million opening.
Based on the original manga of the same name by Katsuhiro Otomo, Akira was released in Japan on July 16, 1988, and then in the United States by Streamline Pictures the following year. It’s garnered an international cult following after numerous theatrical and home video releases. Akira is widely regarded by audiences and critics as one of the greatest films ever made, especially in the sci-fi and animation genre.
Creed III is in theaters now.
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