The Rocky universe continues expanding, though whether it should is an increasingly valid question. HBO has assembled the main cast for Delphi, a Creed spinoff series that's part boxing drama, part The Wire reunion, according to Variety.
Wood Harris, Demián Bichir, André Holland, and Andre Royo lead the cast in what's being described as a series about the business side of boxing. Harris and Royo reuniting will make The Wire fans nostalgic—they played Avon Barksdale and Bubbles respectively in David Simon's Baltimore epic.
But here's the tension: the Creed films work because they're visceral, theatrical experiences. Ryan Coogler's original 2015 film reinvigorated the franchise by making the fights feel brutal and earned. Michael B. Jordan's Adonis Creed was a worthy successor to Sylvester Stallone's Rocky, and the films maintained the series' working-class soul while updating it for a new generation.
Television boxing is a different beast. Without theatrical screens and sound systems, fights lose their physical impact. The best boxing shows—The Affair of the Necklace, Lights Out—struggled to make audiences feel punches through their TVs. Even Creed III, which made $275 million globally, understood it was selling big-screen spectacle.
Delphi focusing on boxing's business side is smart—it's hard to make boardroom drama work theatrically, but television excels at that kind of character-driven storytelling. Billions, Succession, and yes, itself proved that watching people navigate institutional power can be compelling television.
