Creed 4 is unlikely to feature Stallone due to the direction the franchise is heading. Rocky's absence in Creed III indicates the franchise's shift beyond Stallone's involvement.
Despite being the face of the Rocky franchise, Stallone chose not to appear in Creed III due to creative differences with producer Irwin Winkler as well as with Jordan, although he is still a producer on the film. According to Stallone, the film had a much darker tone that he didn't agree with.
Summary. Sylvester Stallone left the Expendables franchise due to creative differences and disagreements about the direction and screenplay of the movie. Despite initially quitting, Stallone returned to the cast of Expendables 4 in 2018, but only in a smaller role and did not write the screenplay.
In an interview with Ellen, Sylvester Stallone reasoned why he refused to write Creed. He referred to a generational gap between the time when he wrote Rocky and the time when a film such as Creed would be making its appearance on the silver screen.
In November 2022, Stallone confirmed that the studio wants another Rocky film, but that negotiations to attain part of the rights to the character from the producers stalled development. He further stated that he is writing the script and that if the studio likes his work, the film will be made.
The Real Reason Sylvester Stallone Isn't In Creed 3
Is Rocky 7 really coming out?
While Rocky 7 could have been exciting, it's a good thing that it never happened. After the franchise's worst movie, Rocky V, was released in 1990, the franchise went on a hiatus for 16 years, only returning with Rocky Balboa in 2006.
"That's a regretful situation because I know what it could have been," Stallone told THR about disagreeing with the new film's tone. "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.
Summary. Creed 4 is unlikely to feature Stallone due to the direction the franchise is heading. Rocky's absence in Creed III indicates the franchise's shift beyond Stallone's involvement. Stallone's return to the Rocky franchise could revitalize his career and appeal to newer audiences.
Stallone and Statham are pals in real life and have collaborated many times over the years. They've co-starred in all The Expendables movies together, and despite featuring a sprawling ensemble, Stallone's Barney and Statham's Christmas are the undisputed main characters.
It's no secret that The Expendables 4 flopped at the box office. After a dismal $8.3 million opening weekend, The Expendables sequel failed to make up lost ground, ending its box office run with a paltry $37.9 million worldwide.
2.) The statue has been taken down after the events of Rocky V, due to Rocky and Tommy Gunn's street brawl, in which the city believes it's unacceptable to have a statue of a legendary boxer involved in a street fight.
Paulie unknowingly had Rocky sign a power of attorney over to Rocky's investment accountant, who had embezzled and squandered all of his money on real estate deals gone sour. In addition, the accountant had failed to pay Rocky's taxes over the past six years and his mansion had been mortgaged by $400,000.
And indeed, Majors admits that he did take a few real punches from his co-star and director Jordan while shooting the movie's boxing scenes. But Majors assures that he got in a few blows of his own as well. Check out what Majors said to Deadline in the space below: I took a couple [punches], I think.
It's clear after examining the careers of both fighters, that Rocky Balboa would defeat Adonis Creed, due to his track record of taking down undefeated boxing icons. Of Rocky's 57 victories, 54 are by knock out.
While Apollo Creed is a beloved and iconic character in the realm of cinema, it's important to clarify that he is a fictional creation and not a real-life boxer. The character was conceived by Sylvester Stallone, who wrote the screenplay for the original "Rocky" film.
Announced to be in development in November 2023 (a mere eight months after the release of Creed III), Creed 4 will seemingly see the Rocky/Creed franchise return to the big screen for a 10th movie (per Variety).
In the third film, released in 1982, Creed has Rocky in his corner when he takes on James “Clubber” Lang (Mr. T), and he's killed by Soviet boxer Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren) in Rocky IV (1985).
Drago enters professional heavyweight boxing in the beginning of the movie. Former champion Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers), now 43 years old, comes out of retirement to challenge Drago to an exhibition match, assisted by Creed's former rival Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone).
Stallone opened up about his absence, explaining that Creed III took a different direction than he would've taken it. "It's a different philosophy... I like my heroes beat up, but I just don't want them going into that dark place. I just feel people have enough darkness."
Talks of a Drago spin-off arose not long after Lundgren reprised his Rocky role in the 2018 film Creed 2, which sees him train his son Victor (Florian Munteanu) to take on Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan). An announcement in July 2022 revealed that the Drago film was in the works, with Robert Lawton writing the script.
The final sequence shows Donnie pretending to box with his daughter. This scene could be a tease that Creed 4 and the next movies in the Creed saga will be about Amara and Donnie's relationship (being a father and a trainer at the same time).
