Almost a decade ago, fans thought they were saying goodbye to the Rocky franchise after its titular character Rocky Balboa had come out of retirement to fight one more time in the 2006 outing ‘Rocky Balboa‘.

But the successful series is set to live on a bit longer with Sylvester Stallone (Rambo series, The Expendables trilogy) reprising his iconic role as the Italian Stallion for the seventh time in the upcoming spinoff ‘Creed‘.

In this particular installment, Balboa will be playing second fiddle to a young contender with an important name linked to the previous Rocky films as Apollo Creed’s son takes centre stage in the boxing drama’s official trailer.

Directed by Ryan Coogler (Fruitvale Station), the film stars rising actor Michael B. Jordan (The Wire, Fantastic Four) as Adonis Creed, a young fighter whose former Heavyweight Champion father Apollo (played by Carl Weathers in the earlier installments) died in the ring before he was born. Adonis ends up seeking help from his father’s former rival-turned-good friend Rocky Balboa in getting trained up as he prepares to go toe-to-toe with a formidable opponent.

Liverpudlian boxer Tony Bellew appears in the film as Adonis’ nemesis Pretty Ricky with additional acting support coming from Graham McTavish (The Hobbit trilogy, Outlander), Tessa Thompson (When a Stranger Calls, Selma), Wood Harris (The Wire, Dredd) and The Cosby Show’s Phylicia Rashad as Adonis’ mother.

Creed has yet to receive a UK release date though it will be out in the US on November 25th. Ironically this film’s arrival will almost coincide with the 40th anniversary of the original Rocky’s cinematic release.