Starring role for stadium in boxing blockbuster film
CARDIFF has a ringside seat in a Rocky spin-off being released in cinemas tomorrow.
Creed II, the second spin-off from the iconic film franchise, was partly filmed at the Principality Stadium.
A sequel to the 2015 box-office smash Creed, it sees Sylvester Stallone return as the retired fighter Rocky Balboa, now trainer to Adonis Johnson – the son of his former opponent Apollo Creed.
In the new film, Adonis (played by Michael B Jordan) accepts a challenge to fight the offspring of Dolph Lundgren’s Ivan Drago – the man who killed Adonis’ dad in the ring during Rocky IV.
Wales also gets a starring role in the upcoming Hollywood hit, with certain key scenes having been shot at Cardiff’s landmark sporting venue during a major boxing match.
Filming took place in front of 80,000 fight fans at the Principality Stadium in April, just prior to Anthony Joshua taking on Kiwi boxer Joseph Parker in a world heavyweight bout.
Before the main event got underway, fans were asked to react to several fighters’ names in order to generate crowd noise for the upcoming production.
Then, as Joshua prepared for his clash, the crowd was asked to cheer as the British star’s name was called out, along with that of ring legend Sugar Ray Leonard and Joshua’s fellow heavyweight world champion Deontay Wilder.
In between undercard bouts, a camera crew also took shots from the ring with a 360-degree camera.
So some lucky fans could wind up being floored when they see their faces pop up on the big screen come the movie’s debut in cinemas nationwide this weekend.