In June, 2026, Hollywood comedy heavyweight Seth Rogen ignited a fierce conversation online when he took a major swipe at Sylvester Stallone. Both actors are held in high regard in their fields, but Stallone is the actor who has been around long enough to be declared a legend. So, why did Seth Rogen feel so comfortable dismissing old-school Hollywood royalty?
Rather than a bitter behind-the-scenes feud, the drama exploded from a casual podcast appearance. While riffing on Hollywood filmographies, Seth Rogen casually claimed that the iconic Sly has only made four genuinely good movies in his 50-year career. So, what exactly was said? And do Rogen’s brutal critiques hold any real merit? Let’s break down the internet’s latest viral movie debate.
Seth Rogen Tossed Out the Majority of Sylvester Stallone’s Portfolio
Although he became synonymous with the action genre, Sylvester Stallone kicked off his career as a dramatic actor. The first Rocky movie was gritty yet heartfelt. Of course, it all builds to an epic boxing match, but at its core, it’s a love story and a exploration of un-tapped potential. The Best Picture Oscar-winning movie earned Stallone nods for Best Original Screenplay and Best Actor in a Leading role, nominated alongside the likes of Robert De Niro. Stallone was widely cited as the next Marlon Brando by prominent film critics like Roger Ebert. However, his journey to superstardom wasn’t rooted in more brooding performances. Instead, it became about muscles and action spectacles.
On a June 2026 episode of the Funny You Ask podcast with his The Studio co-star Ike Barinholtz, Seth Rogen stated how he has never cared for sports movies. So, when he threw it out there that Stallone has only made four good movies, the Rocky franchise was not included. This is where the problem began. Whether you’re famous or not, everyone is allowed their opinions and preferences, but by dismissing an iconic movie just because you don’t like the genre can ruffle some feathers. Although the Rocky franchise became inflated, cartoonish, and over-the-top, classing the first entry as just a “sports movie” ignores that it is fundamentally a brilliant, gritty 1970s character study about working-class desperation in Philadelphia.
Reigniting a Buried Feud
Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger will tell you themselves: they used to hate each other. What started out as friendly competition soon became bitter, with both action juggernauts scheming against the other. For example, Schwarzenegger tricked Stallone to star in Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot, which became one of the actor’s biggest regrets of his career. However, the two eventually realised that there is plenty of room in Hollywood for both to prosper – no more one-upmanship, no more tracking who has the most on-screen kills. Instead, they began collaborating and became great friends.
With his comments about Stallone’s filmography, Rogen didn’t just dismiss nearly his whole catalogue – he re-opened a decades old debate about who is the ultimate action hero. Rogen chose Arnie, valuing tightly directed auteur sci-fi movies like Predator and Terminator 2: Judgement Day over the earnest, formulaic, and star-driven blockbusters that Stallone built his empire on. The exact words: “Predator alone is better than anything Stallone has made.” By framing the rivalry through the lens of cinematic quality rather than box office numbers, Rogen effectively threw a fresh grenade into Hollywood’s oldest action-movie feud.
The Seth Rogen Approved Sly Flicks
What got a lot of people wound up tight was the fact that when Rogen gave his “four good movies” opinion, he only cited two. He crowned the sci-fi action hit Demolition Man (1993) as Stallone’s undisputed masterpiece. For his second pick, he offered a backhanded compliment to Tango & Cash (1989). Rogen noted that while he personally enjoys the buddy-cop flick immensely, “it’s not a good movie”, essentially throwing it in the “so bad it’s good” realm.
By stopping his list there, Rogen’s narrow criteria completely dismisses Stallone’s most powerful, dramatic performances. He flatly ignores First Blood (1982), where Stallone blended action and drama seamlessly. He also completely skimmed over the critically acclaimed Cop Land (1997), where Stallone gained weight and delivered a nuanced, understated rendition alongside acting heavyweights. And as we mentioned, even more egregious is the total erasure of the Rocky franchise. Rogen not only casts out the more action-heavy entries, he bypasses the emotional weight of Rocky Balboa (2006) and Stallone’s masterful, Oscar-nominated reprisal of the character in Creed (2015). Reducing an icon’s 50-year legacy to a single 90s sci-fi film and a “guilty pleasure” ignores the genuine dramatic depth Stallone has proven he possesses.
Read Next: How the Oscars Broke Sylvester Stallone with Rocky
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