Sylvester Stallone felt another ‘Rocky’ film was doable after ‘Creed’, but he wasn’t sure fans would’ve agreed with him.
Sylvester Stallone worked alongside Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan to revitalize the Rocky franchise with Creed. After the sequel film, Stallone had a few new directions he wanted to take Rocky in. But he wasn’t sure that the audience would’ve been interested.
Sylvester Stallone wasn’t sure if audiences would be interested in his new ‘Rocky’ ideas after ‘Creed’
Creed saw Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky seemingly passing the torch to a younger generation of fighters. It wasn’t the first time fans saw the character adopting more of a mentorship role. Stallone’s critically panned Rocky V saw him help mold the future generation of fighters. But it was an attempt that soon backfired in Rocky’s face.
Creed was the first time fans would see Rocky in a film without lacing up the gloves. The franchise would put more focus on Adonis Creed’s journey as a fighter. Still, Stallone hinted that there were more stories he wanted to tell about Rocky. After the somewhat action packed Creed film, however, Stallone wasn’t sure fans would’ve responded to what he had to offer.
“In the film Creed, that’s possible, yes, but I never say no to Rocky, I have a couple of ideas. But I’m not so sure, cause They don’t really involve the ring as much as they should and I’m not so confident that’ll be exciting enough for the audience, but who knows,” Stallone once said according to Total Rocky.
This wasn’t the first time Stallone alluded to the kinds of plans he had for Rocky. Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Stallone confided that he wanted to take a lighter approach to the franchise. But this didn’t mesh well with the darker, grittier direction the Creed franchise would go in by the third film.
“It was taken in a direction that is quite different than I would’ve taken it. It’s a different philosophy — Irwin Winkler’s and Michael B. Jordan’s,” Stallone said. “I wish them well, but I’m much more of a sentimentalist. I like my heroes getting beat up, but I just don’t want them going into that dark space. I just feel people have enough darkness.”
Sylvester Stallone has since retired Rocky
Creed 2 was the last fans saw of Stallone’s Rocky character. The movie saw both Rocky and Creed dealing with the ramifications of the events that happened in Rocky IV. With the character dealing with some of the most traumatic moments of his past, it seemed like a fitting end for the action hero.
“Well, this is probably my last rodeo because… I thought Rocky was over in 2006, and I was very happy with that, and then all of the sudden this young man presented himself and the whole story changed,” Stallone once posted on social media according to IGN. “It went on to a new generation. New problems. New adventures. And I couldn’t be happier, because as I step back, as my story has been told, there’s a whole new world that’s gonna be opening up, for the audience, for this generation.”
However, it’s also possible that Stallone might be retiring the character due to a dispute with the franchise’s producers. Stallone asserted that he has no ownership of the Rocky series after signing them away to get the film made. He’s tried to reach a compromise with the producers, but so far it’s led nowhere. And Stallone has been very vocal about his frustrations toward the situation.
“It was a deal that was done unbeknownst to me by people that I thought were close to me and they basically gave away whatever rights I would have had,” Stallone said about the first Rocky film. “At the time I was so excited to be working and I didn’t understand this is a business. Who knew Rocky would go on for another 45 years? I’ve never used one [line of dialogue] from anyone else — and the irony is that I don’t own any of it. The people who have done literally nothing, control it.”