Back in July, Rocky actor Sylvester Stallone made headlines when he took aim at franchise producer Irwin Winkler, and his son David, for not giving him the rights to the character he created. As a result, it appears the legendary actor's time as the iconic boxer has reached a disappointingly definitive end.
Talking to The Hollywood Reporter, Stallone was asked if there's been any change with the situation in recent months, and answered with a definitive "No."
"It’s never gonna happen. 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," the actor explained. "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."
Asked what prompted his angry Instagram post, Stallone explained that it boiled down to them wanting to move forward with another Rocky project. "I was willing to do it. But I said, 'After 45 years, can we change the playing field a little bit? Level it out? Can’t I get a piece of what I created all these years ago?'"
Clearly, the Rocky franchise's producers didn't want to give the actor what he wanted, though they are free to move forward with new projects without him. For example, there's been talk of a streaming prequel, and Stallone admits it could become a reality (even if he isn't happy about it).
"It may happen again because now Amazon’s involved. It’s pretty close. There’s a side of me that goes: Is this really going to work? Every time you try to do Son of Kong, Son of Tarzan, it doesn’t work. There’s a certain indescribable formula that happens. If I gave you the novel The Godfather, good luck on casting that today. Good luck selling that whole premise today."
We'll have to wait and see what happens with Rocky, but Stallone clearly won't be reprising the role in any way, shape, or form in future. A younger actor could be cast as the boxer, of course, though how quick audiences will be to embrace them when Sly clearly doesn't want it to happen is hard to say.
Stay tuned for updates.