The word at this time, from James White of Empire and many others, is that Sylvester Stallone is planning a spin-off series from the movie Cobra, one of his more popular films from the 80s. The only thing is that at this point one has to wonder just how many people still remember the movie and why in the world it would be a good idea. It’s not that it’s a terrible idea, but the rumor that his character wouldn’t be a part of it seems to indicate that it might need a lot more development when it comes to making it appealing to a crowd in which some people remember the thriller and others have no idea what it’s about. That’s easily remedied of course by going online or finding a copy of the movie and sitting down to watch it, but then again some people might be kind of appalled at what they see since back in the 80s, action movies didn’t really follow a whole lot of procedure. You could argue that they don’t now either, but people are a lot more willing to point this out than ever before, or so it seems.
When Stallone started revisiting his old films, such as Rambo and Rocky, and making more movies that seemed to be a way to close them out, people couldn’t help but think that he was trying to find some closure and round the movies out in a way that people would enjoy and understand. But Cobra, despite his desire to make it into another franchise, never got past the first movie it sounds like since his personal life somehow got in the way. But even though Cobra would be a streaming series it might be another way for him to close out yet another story that he felt a deep connection to, as Marion Cobretti was one of the toughest cops of the decade and did seem to exemplify what a tough character was supposed to be like. This kind of cop isn’t seen all that much any longer since it’s not entirely PC and procedure seems to be a big thing in the movies now, leaving the lone wolf types out in the cold more often than not. It remains to be seen just how Cobra would be brought into the current era and made a part of the mainstream, and it’s also a wonder as to how long the series might be able to last.
Will Lavin from NME reminds us that Cobretti was a rather tough individual, but at the same time one has to think that in this day and age tough isn’t exactly enough. Take a look at the cop shows these days and you’ll find a lot more procedural and by-the-book techniques that are able to bend but never fully break the laws they serve. Cobra would almost have to be a specialist unit that operated almost like the movie Den of Thieves with Gerard Butler, in which he and his men seem to have utter impunity in doing what they need to do so as to take down their target. Obviously the idea isn’t that they’re impervious to the law they serve, but they’re given a kind of pass to do whatever it is that will get results. This almost seems like it would be the premise of a current Cobra series if it’s to take after the movie in any way.
Cop shows these days aren’t like they were in the 80s, the rogue cop doesn’t just go bashing and barging into wherever he feels like as Steven Segal did back in the day, nor do they really get to just cause chaos and havoc anywhere they happen to be like Martin Riggs from Lethal Weapon. Those were the days to be honest, when the cops would be able to go in, kick down the doors of the bad guys, hopefully, and then take them out in the most brutal way possible once it was established they had the right person. Times have changed though and so have the cop shows, which is a consideration that Cobra is going to have to make no matter if it gets away with the cops being absolute badasses that operate under their own authority. It’s not a horrible idea to bring it back but it does beg the question of what the show would look like in comparison to the movie, and if too much would need to be changed for the current era. People need to remember how long ago the movie was made and what kind of technology was available back then as opposed to now. So yeah, bring on the series, but let’s see or hear what the main premise is going to be first so we know whether to be excited or not.
Follow Us
