Drago: Dolph Lundgren Speaks Out After Sylvester Stallone Slams Spinoff

This week, it was announced that the Rocky spinoffs would not be ending with the upcoming Creed III. It was reported by The Wrap that a Drago movie was in the works with Dolph Lundgren (Ivan Drago) and Florian Munteanu (Viktor Drago). Lundgren first appeared in the franchise in Rocky IV back in 1985 and reprised the role in Creed II in 2018 with Munteanu joining as his son. After the news of the Drago movie broke, Rocky creator Sylvester Stallone made it clear that he was unhappy with the decision, saying producer Irwin Winkler is “exploiting” the franchise. Today, Stallone hit Winkler even harder with a graphic social media post calling the producer and his family “bloodsuckers.” He also added, “DOLPH, why? Not a phone call?” One fan came to Lundgren’s defense in the comments, and Stallone replied, saying it wasn’t right since he gave Lundgren his start. However, it looks like those comments have since been deleted. It could be because Lundgren has since made a post of his own, setting the record straight about his involvement.

“Just to set the record straight regarding a possible Drago spinoff. There’s no approved script, no deals in place, no director and I was personally under the impression that my friend Sly Stallone was involved as a producer or even as an actor. There was a press leak last week which was unfortunate. In touch with Mr Balboa – just so all the fans can relax…There ya go. 👊” Lundgren explained. It doesn’t look like Stallone has acknowledged the post yet. You can check it out below:

While Stallone and Lundgren won’t be teaming up for the Drago film, the two will be seen together again later this year in Expend4bles. The upcoming fourth movie will see the return of Stallone and Lundgren as well as Jason Statham and Randy Couture. Franchise newcomers include Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, Megan Fox, Tony Jaa, Jacob Scipio, Levy Tran, Andy Garcia, and Iko Uwais. 

As for Creed III, the movie will mark the directorial debut of Michael B. Jordan who will be stepping in for Ryan Coogler (Creed) and Steven Caple Jr. (Creed II). In addition to Jordan, Creed III will also see the return of Tessa Thompson and Phylicia Rashad, and feature the franchise debut of Jonathan Majors. Previously, Jordan commented on the fact that Stallone was not involved. 

“I think that Sly let it be known that he wasn’t coming back for this one but I think, you know, his essence and his spirit… there’s always going to be a little bit of Rocky within Adonis,” Jordan previously told IGN. “But this is a Creed franchise, and we really want to build this story and this world around him moving forward. So, it’s always respect and always a shit-ton of love for what he’s built, but we really want to push and navigate Adonis forward and the family that he created.” Jordan added, “So hopefully you guys will love what I’m thinking… what we’re cooking up. I think it’s going to be something special.”

Stay tuned for more updates about Drago. Creed III is set to be released in theatres on March 3, 2023.