Sylvester Stallone’s turned out some of the best performances of his career in the Creed movies, imbuing his aged Rocky Balboa with ample melancholy and a flicker of the fire that once ignited in the ring. Still, as their titles imply, the Creed movies aren’t his stories, but those of Michael B. Jordan’s Adonis Creed. Now, Stallone seems to think it’s time to let his younger co-star hit the ring on his own.
This morning, Stallone posted a video to his Instagram account in which he seems to bid a fond farewell to the series. “Well, this is probably my last rodeo because what I thought happened, and has happened, I never expected,” he begins. “I thought Rocky was over in 2006 [Rocky Balboa], and I was very happy with that.” He goes on to praise Jordan for reviving the series. “Then all of a sudden this young man presented himself and the whole story changed. It went on to a new generation. New problems. New adventures. And I couldn’t be happier as I step back because my story has been told, there’s a whole new world that’s going to be opening up with the audience, with this generation.” He wraps up by hugging Jordan and saying it’s on him to “carry the mantle.”
Watch it below.
Stallone seems to assert his decision to leave the film’s orbit in the video’s accompanying caption. “I just want to thank everyone around the whole wide World for taking the Rocky family into their hearts for over 40 years,” he writes. “It’s been my Ultimate privilege to have been able to create and play this meaningful character. Though it breaks my heart, Sadly all things must pass… and end. I love you Kind and generous people , and The most wonderful thing of all , is that ROCKY will never die because he lives on in you ….”
While it makes sense that Rocky would eventually exit the Creed canon, it would be odd if his character was entirely absent from the yet-to-be-confirmed but very probable Creed III. Before he makes that decision, however, he’ll need to bid farewell to another iconic character with Rambo V: Last Blood, which is slated to drop next year.
51 Comments
Question, why does the link that presumably is supposed to lead us to box office numbers for Creed II take us instead to box office numbers for Creed? Unless that was the point.
I think we all know who isn’t tired of playing Rocky Balboa.You guessed it…
This is far from over, my friend.
…Germans love David Hasselhoff?
Rhymes with “wank alone”?
Oh, Hank Malone…
Norm MacDonald!
It’s too bad he didn’t retire the character one movie earlier.
Cut out the horseshit, completely manufactured melodrama between Rocky and Adonis and the movie would almost be good and, even better, much shorter.
Wrap your noggin around this: Sylvester Stallone is three years older (72!) in Creed II than Burgess Merideth was in the original Rocky (69).I don’t know about anyone else, but that blows my mind a little bit.
Sylvester Stallone is now over 20 years older than Wilford Brimley when he starred in Cocoon.
We are closer in time to Cleopatra’s death (30 BC), than her birth (69 BC) was to the completion of the Great Pyramids at Giza (2,560 BC).
And there were still mammoths aroundhttps://io9.gizmodo.com/5896262/the-last-mammoths-died-out-just-3600-years-agobut-they-should-have-survived
It’s still not too late for Stallone to play the Penguin in the next Batman movie.
Mark Hamill was the same age in The Force Awakens that Alec Guinness was in Star Wars.
People are aging better these days.
Well, more people. Joaquin Phoenix is the same age as me and he looks about 10 years older.
That’s what we thought after he beat Clubber Lang.
Stepping away from the Rocky franchise to devote himself completely to the Rambo reboot. Always looking forward, that Sly.
Rambo IV was totally SICK AS FUCK, tho.
Is he done playing John Spartan? Because I, for one, am dying for some more Demolition Man.
Even just a Public Service Announcement about the three seashells!
Or the Fast Food Wars
Can’t he cover that by just making a Taco Bell ad?
Demolition Man is great, not least because its PC dystopia now seems like a fucking paradise. There’s inaccurate prognostications of the future and then there’s “Our society will soon become dangerously civil and well-intentioned.”
Oh how the tables turn. I would seriously trade our society today for the joy-joy society that Huxley lived in.
Judge Dredd reboot!
Makes sense. Adonis and his wife can move to LA to be near Mrs. Creed. Duke’s son can take over training. Rocky stays in Philly.
Rocky will die. Every main character has died so far. He will be buried next to Adrian and Paully.
say what you will, but what an amazing thing to be playing the same character that brought you worldwide stardom and watch a younger actor and director experience the same thing as a direct result of people being moved by said character. he’s been playing rocky for almost 45 years.
Add to that the fact that Stallone wrote the first film. He created this thing that’s lasted most of his own life and is being revived by a younger generation.
Best Original Screenplay nominationBest Picture, Best Director, Best Film Editing winsFive other nominations, including the entire main cast (Stallone, Talia Shire, Burgess Meredith, Burt Young)
People freaking LOVED this movie.
the first Rocky was a great movie. Rocky III and everything after are different, good but different.
Never a bad time for an Airplane! reference
+1 callback
Is that Sonny Bono?
Yeah
I’m honestly fine if each generation is given some form of Rocky.
I’m honestly fine if each generation is given some form of Rocky. My dad’s had Rocky Marcioni. I had Rocket J. Squirrel. And these newfangled space kids have that trash panda thing.
He did kick Joe Lewis’ ass.
If he is going out, he did so on a hell of a performance.I am lost for where they would go with Creed III
Rocky III at least raised the question of whether Rocky was beating the legitimate best competition to defend his title, or was being coddled because he was so popular. I doubt Creed will be so obvious as to follow that exact pattern. Of course III is where things started to get silly with the original franchise (Clubber pushes Mickey, who immediately dies of a heart attack and no one says shit??) and from then you had the ridiculousness of IV. So I hope there’s some real thought put into where to take things from here.
Li’l Duke begins training a new fighter who quickly rises through the Heavyweight ranks, leading to a face off with Creed, Rocky’s getting cancer treatment in Philly; without his two best trainers, Creed makes the fateful decision to work with the Dragos, much to the chagrin of Bianca and Claire Huxtable.
Rocky will be dead in Creed III. They hinted at it numerous times in the first 2 Creed movies.
Dealing with the aftermath of Rocky’s death could be one story, though it might be more pleasant to just think of Rocky as happily retired. I am also curious as to what Mary Anne and Apollo’s two kids, shown briefly in Rocky II (I think), think of Adonis. Perhaps one of them is jealous and could coach or promote a rival. There hasn’t been a major Hispanic boxer in the series either, so that could be a change of pace.
Roy Jones Jr as James “Clobber” Lang Jr?
Anyone remember that article from several years back that talked all about how Stallone was sick and tired of playing Rocky and Rambo and action stuff and wanted to be known as a real actor, so he went and did Copland and it bombed and immediately afterward he went right back to lobbying for more Rocky and Rambo movies? It’ll be interesting to see if he can keep to his word this time.
Which was too bad, because Copland was good and he was good in it. Just didn’t do much box office.
Dude is very underestimated as an actor, but he can’t rise above his materials. Give him a good or fun screenplay (Rocky, First Blood, CopLand, Demolition Man) he’ll match it’s quality and tone.
Copland was an actual good movie though.
Made a crapton of expandable money since then tho. Might be easier to retire and stick with it now ^^
Have Rocky die in the ring, cowards. Then cut to the announcers and have them say, “Uh…so why did we think it was a good idea to put a 70-year-old man in the ring against the reigning world champion?”“Well, I guess we thought he’d go the distance.”“True, he usually did that. Anyway, he’s dead now.”
He needs to appear in Creed III and die on screen. Even if it’s just a cameo deathbed scene to open the movie. You have to see that for Creed and character and you want to see it for Michael B. Jordan’s performance.