The Rocky franchise is expanding even further with a new prequel in the works by franchise star, Sylvester Stallone. And no, we’re not referring to the Creed spin-off currently in development, but a separate project set to focus on Rocky Balboa himself years before he began his storied career. Stallone first teased the project a while back, revealing he was preparing the framework for the story and now, the actor has made some solid progress, as he recently shared an update teasing some exciting plot points.
Stallone recently sat down for a chit-chat on the Inspire Me Podcast where he said that he had written a few pages for the story. Without divulging too much, Stallone teased that Balboa’s backstory could take many interesting directions. The writing process has been free-flowing for the actor, who drew comparisons of what he’s penned so far with the 1995 animated musical romance, Lady and the Tramp but with human characters instead of adorable puppies. It’s shaping up like nothing else we’ve seen in the franchise as the project will propel us back to when a teenage Rocky met and fell for his ride-or-die, Adriana who is played in the original film by Oscar-nominated actress Talia Shire. Stallone said:
“The Rocky prequel is very near and dear to my heart. I wrote a few pages of it, and it just seems to write itself. Seeing Adrienne at 15, Rocky at 17, and Paulie moving into a new neighborhood, Rocky’s your bad boy. It’s almost like Lady and the Tramp, but with real people. It’s going to be wonderful.”
The ‘Rocky’ Prequel Is Planned To Arrive On Streaming
Stallone has been generous with details regarding the prequel from the get-go. Back in 2021, when he first shared he was working on the project, Stallone revealed that the series will be set in the ’60s and will likely explore the key transformative occurrences of the era, like the moon landing, the feminist movement, the Civil Rights Movement, and the Cold War. The Rocky franchise is most loved with the spin-off Creedverse expanding the fanbase with a new generation of audiences. The films have dominated the box office, and it will be quite the feat to see that success translated to the small screen.
Stallone aims to tool the story for streaming with a few seasons to include 10 episodes each. The format is set as such to allow each character time to develop, as Stallone wants to tell a layered story. So far, no streaming platform has boarded the project just yet, but stay tuned to Collider for future updates.