No one is obsessed with the iconic “Rocky” franchise more than Sylvester Stallone.
Just a few months ago, the actor reprised his role as Rocky Balboa in “Creed“, the 7th “Rocky” film which stars Michael B. Jordan as Adonis Johnson, the son of Rocky’s former rival Apollo Creed.
Touted as both a spin-off from the original series and a sequel to 2006’s “Rocky Balboa”, “Creed” successfully revived the franchise and received acclaim from critics, with many calling it the best “Rocky” film in years.
As of 4th January 2016, it grossed USD103.4 million in North America and USD12.4 million in other territories for a worldwide total of USD115.8 million, against a budget of USD35 million. Though Stallone only played a mentor to Jordan’s character, he won the National Board of Review Award for “Best Supporting Actor”
He also earned a Golden Globe Award nomination for “Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture”, his first Golden Globe nomination since the original “Rocky” film 39 years earlier.
Given the box office success of “Creed”, it was only a matter of time before MGM, which financed the Warner Bros. release with New Line, confirmed that a sequel is indeed in the works.
In an interview with Variety, MGM CEO Gary Barber said:
There’s no doubt that we’re making a “Creed 2”.
But since director Ryan Coogler recently signed a deal to helm Marvel‘s “Black Panther“, Stallone admitted in the same interview that Coogler may not return to the director’s chair.
He said:
I know Ryan is probably going to be gone for a couple years.
“So there will be a quandary on: Do we work with another director and have Ryan produce, or do we wait? There’s a diminishing time acceptance of a sequel. Now they are cranking them out in a year,” he added.
The fact that Coogler is going to direct a Marvel movie didn’t stop him and Stallone from developing ideas for the 2nd “Creed” movie, one of which would bring back Carl Weathers to play the original Creed.
Though Apollo Creed was killed off in 1985’s “Rocky IV”, Stallone said that they might revive the character by developing a storyline that takes place in the past.
He explained:
Ryan has some ideas of going forward and backward and actually seeing Rocky and Apollo together. Think of “The Godfather 2. That’s what he was thinking of, which was kind of ambitious.
However, Coogler didn’t sound all too pleased with Stallone revealing the storyline as he let out a sigh and said “Oh no!”. “There are no secrets with Sly,” he also said.
Jordan also remains doubtful about the idea. “So it’s going to be a CGI-version of Sly?” he teased, adding that he’d like to be involved in the next “Rocky” movie. “I’m trying to think about it. Knowing Ryan, he’ll find a clever way to make that work,” he said.
Though Stallone noted that Weathers is still in a pretty good shape, it’s possible that the “Godfather Part II”–style idea will not work. Thus, another possible storyline would be a linear story with Adonis taking on another challenger.
He explained:
You’ll have him face a different opponent, which I would say is a more ferocious, big Russian. You can start to meld my experiences and then you start to bring different cultures into it. And you can see what’s happening with the Russians today in America.
“The complication will come with the girl’s ambition because she’s not Adrian. She has places to go, things to see, the clock is running on her hearing,” he added.
So, which idea do you prefer? Would you like to see Stallone stepping back into the boxing ring with Weathers?
Sound off your thoughts in the comments box below.
Source: Variety.
