Sylvester Stallone Drops Out of a Reboot of One of His Classic Movies

Sylvester Stallone is not returning for a reboot of his action classic, Cliffhanger. According to Variety, the reboot of Cliffhanger is currently in production in Austria, but Stallone is no longer starring in the film. Instead, the Jaume Collet-Serra-directed reboot will see Lily James taking on the lead role with Pierce Brosnan co-starring along with Nell Tiger Free, Franz Rogowski, Shubham Saraf, Assaad Bouab, Suzy Bemba, and Bruno Gourey. The film does not yet have a release date.

“Shooting our movie on location in the Dolomites using large format cameras was imperative for us to show the scope and scale of the story we’re telling,” Collet-Serra said. “We’re going to bring the audience a truly thrilling and visceral, premium theatrical experience. Lily in particular has gone above and beyond for the role, putting in real training and learning to climb. Her dedication has allowed us to capture some incredible shots we couldn’t have achieved otherwise, and the whole crew is blown away by her commitment.”

The Cliffhanger follow up was first announced back in May 2023. At the time, Stallone — who starred in the iconic 1993 original film — was confirmed to be returning to reprise his role of search-and-rescue mountain climber Gabe Walker. At that time, the film was set to be directed by Angel Has Fallen and Greenland filmmaker Ric Roman Waugh. The original Cliffhanger saw Stallone’s character finding himself caught up in a scheme of international thieves when he and his peers are taken hostage as part of a deadly plan. John Lithgow and Michael Rooker also starred in the film.

[RELATED: Sylvester Stallone Returning for Cliffhanger Sequel]

As for why Stallone is no longer a part of the Cliffhanger reboot, the report indicates that is a product of a creative overhaul. The new film has a script based on a story by Ana Lily Amirpour and is described as being a “father-daughter take on Die Hard.” with Brosnan set to play a seasoned mountaineer, Ray Cooper, who runs a luxury chalet in the Dolomites with his daughter Sydney. However, while on a weekend trip with a billionaire’s son they find themselves targeted by a gang of kidnappers which prompts Ray’s daughter Naomi (James), who is still haunted by a previous climbing accident, to escape and save her family — facing her fears and fighting for survival in the process.

The New Cliffhanger Reboot Doesn’t Sound Like a Sequel

With Stallone having exited the project and based upon the general description, the new Cliffhanger sounds like a new story rather than a follow-up or a sequel to the 1993 film, though some of the general themes appear to be similar. Earlier this year, director of the 1993 film Renny Harlin spoke about how he hoped the new film would honor the original with its use of practical effects as opposed to CGI.

“To be honest, I’ve tried for decades. I always felt the movie was hugely successful, and it was crazy that there wasn’t a sequel. There was more story to tell. Now, of course, it’s a long time later, so I have no idea what kind of story they are planning to tell or what Sly’s role in it is. But I wish them the best of luck,” Harlin said. “I hope they don’t try to replace what we did with a lot of CG. Because I think the audience will be able to tell that we did everything for real. We shot at 12,000-foot peaks in the Italian Alps. It was real stuff, like the opening sequence with the girl falling. It was done for real. That was at 8,000 feet, that wire.”

He added, “it’s so easy for the studios to say now, ‘We’ll do everything blue screen and create everything digitally.’ I hope they don’t do that because it deserves a sequel with the same spirit of the original.”

Keep checking with ComicBook for updates on the Cliffhanger reboot.