When Sylvester Stallone wrote Rocky, he envisioned it as his breakthrough project and fought hard to ensure that he earned the chance to play the lead role himself. Considering that 1976’s Rocky is about an aspiring boxer on the verge of missing his last chance to pursue a career, the film is an incredibly clear case of art imitating life. The project was also an epic risk for Stallone, and on both fronts, the endeavor paid off big time. Rocky Balboa proved to himself that he could go the distance, and his story instantly made Stallone an A-list star.
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Rocky went on to become the biggest hit of the year, winning Best Picture at the Academy Awards. Rocky grew from just a movie into something so much more, inspiring a movement and a franchise that has never really gone away. From 1979 to 1990, Stallone reprised the role for four more sequels, and then following the disappointing response to Rocky V, he returned once more to seemingly end the character’s story with 2006’s Rocky Balboa. Having written all six films and directed four of them, Rocky has always been Stallone’s biggest passion project. However, its impact on pop culture and storytelling extends far past the Rocky franchise.
Rocky Is Still Largely Considered Cinema’s Best Underdog Story 50 Years Later
With five decades of fandom behind it, Rocky still stands as one of the most popular movies of all time. And with the new film I Play Rocky dramatizing the story behind the film’s production, there’s never been a better time to reflect on everything that first movie created. In fact, in the current context of franchises that continue on without any clear endpoint in mind, it’s easy to track it all back to Rocky. True, even before Stallone stepped into the ring, the James Bond films presented adventure after adventure featuring its title hero. But those stories usually shared little to no continuity and routinely cast new actors in the lead role to keep the franchise fresh.
Contrast that with the Rocky franchise, which follows the same man played by the same actor over the course of 30 years. The central metaphor of the series is that boxing is like life. You have to “keep punching” — as Stallone so often likes to say — and get back up, fighting for everything and everyone you love. To that end, the films have regularly checked in with Rocky Balboa, tracking his career but really telling his life story through the lens of the sport to which he devotes his life. In much the same way, today’s franchises so readily return to the same fan-favorite characters. Shared universes like the MCU especially bank on the popularity of characters like Chris Evans’ Steve Rogers and Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine more than even the threats they face. The longevity of the franchise depends on the audience’s willingness to check in with their favorite heroes, a trend that can be tracked directly back to Stallone’s Rocky Balboa.
Have Audiences Really Seen the Last of Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky Balboa?
Even once Stallone’s mainline Rocky franchise came to a close with 2006’s Rocky Balboa, fans were treated to an entirely new era for their champion. When Ryan Coogler resurrected the series with Creed, Stallone returned as the mentor to Michael B. Jordan’s Adonis Creed, son to Rocky’s late rival-turned-bestie Apollo Creed. As always, the series’ boxing-as-life metaphor extended to the Creed series, which sees Rocky shift into a supporting capacity to build up the next generation. But still, Creed and especially its 2018 sequel — which essentially serves as a direct follow-up to 1985’s Rocky IV — keep the legacy of the original six-film run alive and punching.
Although Stallone sat out Creed III largely due to a long-running behind-the-scenes dispute with producer Irwin Winkler, the actor seems open about returning to the role for a ninth time. Stallone recently told TVInsider that he has written a new Rocky film, though it remains unclear whether it will ever get made. Perhaps Stallone’s ideas can be incorporated into the announced Creed IV. Jordan has confirmed he will return to direct his second entry in the franchise, though there’s no word on when fans can expect to see Adonis Creed back on the big screen just yet. Stallone has long maintained he would love to return for Creed IV, provided Winkler is not involved. So there’s no telling what the future holds, but if fans know one thing, it’s never to count Rocky Balboa out.
Should Sylvester Stallone reprise Rocky Balboa one more time? Let us know in the comments!
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