Michael B. Jordan Hypes “Dragon Ball Z Punch” in Creed 3

Michael B. Jordan has worn his love of anime on his sleeve, quite literally in the past, as the prolific actor has both shared his affection for the medium while also helping to create a new line of fashion modeled after the Naruto franchise. Returning to the current franchise inspired by the original Rocky movies, Jordan is directing and starring in the third entry in the Creed series, recently stating that not only will there be several anime references, but a specific punch was inspired by none other than Dragon Ball Z.

In chatting with IGN, Jordan discussed the anime influences on Adonis Creed’s upcoming fights, with the third film in the series pitting him against his former friend Damian Anderson, played by Jonathan Majors: 

“Without nerding out too much… You’ve seen so many fights throughout the Rocky and Creed franchise, and I really wanted to put my spin on it, you know? How to make these fights different, and you know, from Hajime no Ippo, to Megalo Box, to Naruto, to My Hero Academia, all of those different anime that I watched growing up, there’s an inherent spirit to them in how they fight…”  

Dragon Ball Creed

When Jordan was asked in the interview if there was a specific moment that most exemplifies the anime influence, the actor playing Adonis Creed hyped up the fight he has with Majors and states that there is specifically a “Dragon Ball Z punch” that anime fans should keep an eye out for:

“I would say from the Dragon Ball Z universe, there’s a punch… [in] me and Damian’s fight, where there’s a Dragon Ball Z punch that’s in there.”

Michael B. Jordan’s love of anime also found its way into a previous movie that our readers might be familiar with in Marvel’s Black Panther, where his villainous Killmonger wore an outfit that was wildly reminiscent of the look of Dragon Ball Z’s Vegeta, the prince of all Saiyans. While the specific punch in the upcoming Creed 3 has yet to be revealed, perhaps Jordan will once again pay homage to Vegeta specifically. 

Which anime references are you most looking forward to in the upcoming Creed 3? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and the world of anime brawls.

Creed III is in theaters on March 3rd, 2023.

Via IGN