Dolph Lundgren Confirms Discussions About Rocky Spinoff for Ivan Drago

The long-rumored Rocky spinoff centering on Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren) is reportedly still being considered at MGM. The actor, while promoting his new film Castle Falls, teased the possibility when asked about the character, who first appeared in Rocky IV and then reappeared in Creed II, when his son (played by Florian Munteanu) went up against Michael B. Jordan's Adonis Creed, a reprise of the battle from Rocky IV in which Adonis's father Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) died in the ring during an exhibition fight with Ivan Drago. The character got much more depth in Creed II, which explored his relationship with his son.

The revelation came out of a discussion about a much-discussed deleted scene from Creed II. In one cut of the film, there was a brief scuffle between Rocky and Ivan Drago, but it was cut from the final version.

"I thought it was a good moment. It was also a fan moment," Lundgren told The Hollywood Reporter. "It was a quick little fight, and I thought it worked. But the director [Stephen Caple Jr.] and MGM felt that it was extraneous and that it didn't add anything. By the way, I think there's some talk about doing a whole spinoff on Drago with MGM. So you may get more of that."

The spinoff will likely carry on some plot threads from Creed II, but that's all based in previously-unseen footage from Rocky IV. Some of them are now part of the movie in Rocky vs. Drago, Sylvester Stallone's recently-released director's cut of the film. While Lundgren has not yet seen the film, he remains friendly with Stallone and has an idea of what the new version entails.  

"Well, when I played the character, I did a backstory about how he was brought up by the state and they controlled him," Lundgren said. "He didn't have much say. He wasn't really an evil person; he was just a product of the system. He's Frankenstein's monster. He's not Dr. Frankenstein; that was the Soviet Union. So I always played that, and some of that came across in '85. A little bit of something came across because in the next picture, I was not playing a villain. So some of it was there even then. Sly and I are friends, but now, I guess he wanted to show the other side of the character. So I'm sure I'll enjoy it."

You can get Rocky vs. Drago on digital platforms now.