March is here and it came in swinging. There is a lot of action, comedy, and Star Wars in the cards for us in this new month already.
It’s been Creed III week here at Complex, and we caught up with the cast, including director Michael B. Jordan, Jonathan Majors, and Tessa Thompson, as well as got some behind-the-scenes stories from Dreamville about the making of the movie’s soundtrack. If you’re catching Creed III in theaters this weekend, try to watch it in an IMAX theater. The film is the first in the sports category to use IMAX cameras for the boxing scenes, and it really makes the experience that much more enjoyable.
Netflix is making history this weekend not only by giving Chris Rock his first standup special since the Will Smith Oscars slap but by making the Chris Rock: Selective Outrage comedy special the first-ever live event that will stream on the platform. That’s a pretty big deal. On the TV side, The Mandalorian is back with Season 3 on Disney+, while Prime Video delivered its new limited TV series Daisy Jones & The Six.
Happy watching and come back next week for the rest of what March will have to offer.
'Creed III'
View this video on YouTube
When: Friday, March 3
Where: In theaters
Michael B. Jordan knows a thing or two about directing. Acting from a young age, the performer thoroughly understands what being on a set is like. With the release of Creed III, the now third installment in the Rocky spin-off franchise, he can officially add theatrical director to his long list of credits, where it’s clear he’s learned quite a few lessons on how to helm a film.
Taking over from Creed II’s Steven Caple Jr., the threequel picks up with a very much retired Adonis raising his and Bianca’s (Tessa Thompson, always wonderful) daughter and working as a figurehead alongside Tony (Wood Harris) at the gym. Donny spends his days training the next generation of fighting talent and serving as a promoter. In short, he’s earned the LeBron James mogul era of his career, fully content with leaving the ring behind. A fight-less Creed movie wouldn’t be much without its main event, however, so enter Damian Anderson (Jonathan Majors) as a shadowy figure from the past. Turns out, Damian was on track to living out the fighting reality that Adonis now has—and he wants his shot at being the champ.
Jordan’s command of the camera manages to add new elements to the still-sharp Creed formula, with many of its action sequences unfolding like, and very much impacted by, sports and action anime (the famous “Piccalo Punch” from Dragon Ball Z is recreated and Jordan cites Hajime No Ippo as a direct influence) and feels even more kinetic than before. The tight framing he employs makes the bouts more intimate than before. But there’s restraint, too; a quiet scene between Jordan and Thompson which ostensibly ends the film’s second act is given plenty of time to linger and breathe in a moment where a less seasoned director may have otherwise rushed through. Creed III unequivocally proves Jordan’s got the goods and should be a dictatorial talent to watch.
Unsurprisingly, Majors puts on a championship performance as Damian. An absolute force of nature, Damian is a man who is running out of time and, as a result, can’t stop moving. Save for one very intentional moment, Majors imbues Damian with perpetual motion, whether it’s subtly rocking back and forth after a fight or just walking around a space on the phone. He’s a dynamo, content to get back every second he’s lost. Even when Creed III threatens to spill out into complete melodrama, both Majors and Jordan keep it on track in a way that proves this series still has plenty of gas in the tank. —William Goodman
'Chris Rock: Selective Outrage'
View this video on YouTube
When: Saturday, March 4 at 10 p.m.
Where: Netflix
Chris Rock will take the stage in Baltimore, Maryland for Netflix’s first-ever live-streamed global event with a new comedy special, Chris Rock: Selective Outrage. The historical show will stream live at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT. Netflix has plenty of standups and comedy specials on their platform but as big of a deal as it is that they landed one with Rock, this is also the first time the streamer will be live streaming an event, which could potentially usher in new opportunities and live television events for the future. Anyway, most, if not all, of us will be watching to see what Rock has to say about the infamous Will Smith Oscars slap that went down nearly a year ago. He has reportedly been testing out the new material to new audiences ahead of his big Netflix event, and so far, there have been plenty of Smith jokes—and some fans are not happy with some of the jokes that have leaked.
There is also The Show Before the Show pre-show which will kick off at 9:30 p.m. ET and will stream live from The World Famous Comedy Store on the Sunset Strip, hosted by Ronny Chieng with appearances from Arsenio Hall, Leslie Jones, Deon Cole, and more comedians. This is the kind of thing you may want to invite some friends over and make an event out of. Or watch by yourself. Whatever works. Check back in with us to see what Rock had to say after the show. —Karla Rodriguez
'Daisy Jones & The Six'
View this video on YouTube
When: Friday, March 3
Where: Prime Video
Adapted from the smash-hit book by Taylor Jenkins Reid, Daisy Jones & The Six is another splashy television series translation by Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine production company. Showrun by the same crew behind The Spectacular Now (writers Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber with director James Ponsoldt), the Prime Video series charts the behind-the-scenes story of the titular Daisy Jones & The Six, a fictional Fleetwood Mac-like band complete with plenty of boozed-up, drugged-out, inter-romance filled strife.
Much like the Reid novel, Six unfolds as an oral history of sorts, with band members Daisy Jones (Riley Keough), Billy Dunne (Sam Claflin), Graham Dunne (Will Harrison), Karen Sirko (Suki Waterhouse), Eddie Roundtree (Josh Whitehouse), and Warren Rojas (Sebastian Chacon) all sitting for interviews as part of a documentary. Throughout the interviews, Neustadter, Weber, and Ponsoldt fill in the gaps with time jumps back to the events of the band’s coming together and falling apart. The first three episodes of the 10-episode series are table and vibe-setting for the inevitable collision course between lead singers Billy and Daisy and feel like a preamble to an explosive fireworks show. But once the two get together—and their will-they-won’t-they romance begins, the show blossoms accordingly, managing to balance the tension between the show’s leads while still maintaining a richly full view of its ensemble.
Keough and Claflin will likely (and rightly, they’re excellent) get a lot of praise but worth a dedicated mention is Camila Morrone as Billy’s wife, Camila. Easily the biggest role of Morrone’s still fresh career (although shoutouts to her A24 slacker comedy Never Goin’ Back), she manages to bring real depth to a role that might have gotten lost in the shuffle, as it’s often hard to find nuance in all three sides of a love triangle. With killer, earworm-worthy songs written by Pheobe Bridgers, Jackson Browne, and Marcus Mumford, Daisy Jones may feel like a cover album in its early ongoings, but by the end, everything comes together for one killer album you likely want to revisit again, and again. —William Goodman
'The Mandalorian' Season 3
![When: Wednesday, March 1
Where: Disney+
Star Wars fans have been more than well-fed with spin-offs like Andor, The Book of Boba Fett, and Obi-Wan Kenobi, and now The Mandalorian is back with Season 3. The show returned to Disney+ this week and will be arriving with new weekly episodes every Wednesday. Now that Mando (Pedro Pascal) has rescued Grogu from Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito), his journey through the Star Wars galaxy will continue but with Grogu by his side in Season 3. While the studio hasn’t released much information about what’s going down this season, Giancarlo Esposito told People a little about what fans should expect: “We’re living in a universe that is huge and [that has] so much to explore,” he said, also adding that his character will play a bigger part this time around. “So I think this show is going to start to lay the groundwork for the depth and breadth that’s going to come in season three and season four, where you’re really gonna start to get answers.” So don’t fret, the answers will come as the season goes on. If you haven’t watched the first episode yet, now is your time to catch up. —Karla Rodriguez](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Znsa4Deavgg/mqdefault.jpg)
View this video on YouTube
When: Wednesday, March 1
Where: Disney+
Star Wars fans have been more than well-fed with spin-offs like Andor, The Book of Boba Fett, and Obi-Wan Kenobi, and now The Mandalorian is back with Season 3. The show returned to Disney+ this week and will be arriving with new weekly episodes every Wednesday. Now that Mando (Pedro Pascal) has rescued Grogu from Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito), his journey through the Star Wars galaxy will continue but with Grogu by his side in Season 3. While the studio hasn’t released much information about what’s going down this season, Giancarlo Esposito told People a little about what fans should expect: “We’re living in a universe that is huge and [that has] so much to explore,” he said, also adding that his character will play a bigger part this time around. “So I think this show is going to start to lay the groundwork for the depth and breadth that’s going to come in season three and season four, where you’re really gonna start to get answers.” So don’t fret, the answers will come as the season goes on. If you haven’t watched the first episode yet, now is your time to catch up. —Karla Rodriguez
