Stephen Caple Jr., a 2010 Baldwin Wallace University graduate, has recently been selected to direct the upcoming film “Creed 2,” starring Michael B. Jordan and Sylvester Stallone.

While this will be Caple’s first time directing a major film, Caple had directed the coming-of-age story “The Land.” Caple’s work on “The Land” caught the eye of the “Creed 2” executives and led to him landing the role as director.

“The Land” was released in July, 2016 and featured Cleveland rapper Machine Gun Kelly and “Hannah Montana’s” Moises Arias. The film focused on four inner-city teens and their relationship with a Cleveland crime boss. The film was chosen for the 31st Sundance Film Festival.

Also prior to landing the role as director on “Creed 2,” Caple wrote for HBO’s Emmett Till project, which was produced by Will Smith and Jay-Z. He also directed the season finale of Freeform’s “Grownish”, a spin-off of the popular ABC Family Series “Black-ish”.

His directing skills have landed him several accolades, such as being named as one of“The 25 Breakthrough Directors of 2016” by the Playlist and one of the most interesting people of 2016 by Cleveland Magazine.

As a Cleveland native, Caple is very passionate about Cleveland and hopes that the city becomes more of a hot spot for filmmaking.

“As of right now, I’m trying to push to have a lot of my films made in Cleveland, Ohio, which is where I grew up,” said Caple. “Not just because they have great tax incentives, but because I actually want to go back and make movies about Cleveland.”

While Caple is a major director now, he was once a soft-spoken film and marketing student at Baldwin Wallace University.

“He was a definitely a quiet leader,” said Professor Molly Swiger. “He was always working hard on independent film
projects.” Josh Cahlik, also a recent Baldwin Wallace University film graduate, has had success within the film industry as a tournament reporter for World Series of Poker. Baldwin Wallace University’s Communications Department requires communication students to take courses that directly relate to professional work within the field. Co-curricular activities such as BWTV and WBWC also help film students adapt to working in a professional media environment.

Caple continues to associate with the Baldwin Wallace University community. He utilized BW for his production office while filming “The Land,” and met with various film and broadcast students throughout the duration of filming.