Sylvester Stallone stepped away from the Creed franchise for Creed 3, and had he returned as Rocky, the film would have been very different. The actor's feud with producer Irwin Winkler caused Stallone to walk away from the Creed franchise for its third installment. Michael B Jordan had no trouble carrying the film alongside returning stars Tessa Thompson and Phylicia Rashad and new cast members Jonathan Majors and Mila Davis-Kent. Shockingly, the film didn't even give an update as to where Rocky was. While Stallone's Rocky helped transition into the Creed franchise, inviting in fans of the original Rocky franchise, Creed 3 went on just fine without him.

https://screenrant.com/creed-3-sylvester-stallone-rocky-return-different-changes/