Tessa Thompson refused to say Philly slang “Jawn” in “Creed III”

Tessa Thompson refused to say Philly slang “Jawn” in “Creed III”.

Creed III star Tessa Thompson has revealed what word she refused to say in the new movie.

Thompson, who starred in the Rocky spin-off franchise's first and second instalment, reprised her role as Bianca for Creed III which debuted at the box office this month.

Starring alongside Michael B. Jordan as his character Adonis Creed's partner since 2015's Creed, Thompson told The Hollywood Reporter that she wouldn't say a famous word from the first movie. According to Thompson, she would no longer say "jawn," a Philadelphia slang word for any kind of noun – something her character explained to Adonis "Donnie" Creed over a Philly Cheesesteak in part one of the franchise.

Speaking of her decision, Thompson said that Bianca has evolved beyond the word having moved to Los Angeles and it was important to portray that change.

"I said to them, 'I'm not saying jawn in this movie because we've heard it, we've done it. I want to break new territory,'" Thompson explained. "Not saying 'jawn' was also a way of saying inside of the filmmaking that you are going to witness someone that is constantly evolving."

In the 2015 Creed movie, Tessa Thompson’s character (Bianca) and Michael B. Jordan’s character (Donnie Creed) goes out together for the Philly cheesesteaks. During their meal, Bianca talks about the word ‘jawn’ with Donnie which is slang for any type of noun in Philadelphia. Now after seven years to the III movie, Thompson has made it clear that Bianca has to move forward with the time.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Tessa Thompson said that she made it very clear in the very beginning that her character will not be saying ‘jawn’ as they have already done it. This will also symbolize that the character is constantly evolving.    

In this interview, Tessa Thompson also opens up about the possibility of the new movie or franchise after Creed III. The actress says that with the title character as a boxer, there are more than one Creed. There are wide possibilities of different narratives and if the audience wants to see more of it, then they would gladly return.  

The recent Creed with Michael B. Jordan as director was structured in a manner that it could open the possibility of the new franchise. Amara, who is the daughter of Bianca and Donnie in Creed III, has the same boxing instincts as her father and grandfather.