Credit: Creed III
The situation with Sylvester Stallone and the Rocky franchise hasn’t been a pretty one. The Academy Award nominee has made his disdain for the direction of the series known lately, with the most notable being Stallone calling out Dolph Lundgren and Irwin Winkler back in July over the announced spin-off, Drago. The 76-year-old and Lundgren eventually made peace with one another; however, Stallone’s hatred for Winkler remains alive and well.
That brings us over to Creed III, with Stallone actually sitting out of the sequel this time around. Creed helped bring the Rocky franchise back to life when it was released back in 2015, with the spin-off garnering strong reviews from both critics and audiences. Creed made $173.6 million worldwide, and though that number isn’t on the scale of a Marvel film, it’s still impressive since the movie wasn’t a big-budget blockbuster. Creed also saw Stallone get his first Oscar nominee for Best Supporting Actor, though many were scratching their heads at why Michael B. Jordan and Ryan Coogler were left out of the prestigious event.
Credit: Creed III
Nevertheless, Creed II earned over $200 million worldwide, and that sequel saw the return of Drago, another established name within the Rocky universe. Though Stallone’s Rocky didn’t have as much of a meaty role in the sequel, his value within the film was still present, though it appeared that the actor himself didn’t see a need to be in the upcoming Creed III:
“Well it’s different because actually I bowed out of that one, I just didn’t know if there were any part for me.” Stallone told Metro UK in an interview. ” It takes it in a different direction. I wish them well and keep punching!” Now, there’s been whispers about the actual reason that Stallone isn’t in the upcoming sequel. While never confirmed, it was rumored that Stallone was pushed out of the third installment. There’s no telling whether that piece of gossip is true or not, but the relationship with Stallone and Winkler stems from the fact that the latter doesn’t own any of the rights of the franchise. Stallone has been paid handsomely for his Rocky films, but the actor was never written in the ownership of the franchise and failed to get it despite several attempts.
Credit: Creed II
Stallone’s family hasn’t exactly been kind to Creed III, with his brother Frank blasting the sequel back in May on Twitter. Frank called the film a “farce” and stated that any film without Rocky is a “joke”. The most interesting aspect of this is that Sylvester liked the tweet. Now, the actor hasn’t taken any deep shots at the film like his brother, but in his latest interview with The Hollywood Reporter, he didn’t praise it either:
“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. 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.”
He essentially echoes the same sentiments of his Metro UK interview, but could Stallone’s comments sway Rocky fans from seeing Creed III? Considering the fact that most of the audience comes from fans of the original series, it quite possibly could. Granted, it’s not known how many of the original fans carried over to the Creed series, but the Rocky series has mainly made in the area is $120 million in terms of box office, with Rocky III garnering $300.4 million. That’s currently the most out of the six films and two spin-offs. Michael B. Jordan and Winkler have yet to respond to Stallone’s recent comments, but it should be very interesting to see how Creed III fares at the box office when it comes out on March 3, 2023.
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