Sylvester Stallone Almost Got a Major Payday For Rambo IV

Sylvester Stallone is one of the biggest action movie stars of all time and he has been in multiple sequels for multiple franchises. The actor has appeared in multiple films in the Rocky franchise, including Creed and Creed II, and Rambo. Stallone has had his choice of franchises appearing in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the DC Universe, so you’d be surprised by which film he turned down and for what number. During a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the actor revealed the biggest payday that he turned down was for Rambo IV.

“I turned down 34,” Stallone said before revealing that it was Rambo IV. “We were doing Rambo III. We thought it was going to be the biggest hit — this was before it came out. And I was paid a fortune for it. Then they go, “We want Rambo IV. Here it is: Pay or play, 34.” I go, “Let’s not jump the gun here …”

Stallone is likely not appearing in the next film of a franchise he started with Creed III. Speaking in a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Stallone was asked if it will be “weird” for him to not appear in the third film and gave a candid answer about Rocky’s absence.

“That’s a regretful situation because I know what it could have been. It was taken in a direction that is quite different than I would’ve taken it. It’s a different philosophy — Irwin Winkler’s and Michael B. Jordan’s. I wish them well, but I’m much more of a sentimentalist. I like my heroes getting beat up, but I just don’t want them going into that dark space. I just feel people have enough darkness.”

In 2018, Stallone announced his Rocky retirement after more than 40 years when wrapping filming on Creed II. 

“This is probably my last rodeo, because what I thought happened — and has happened — I never expected. I thought Rocky was over in 2006 [the release of Rocky Balboa], and I was very happy with that. And then all of a sudden this young man [Jordan] presented himself and the whole story changed,” Stallone said in the video. “It went on to a new generation, new problems, new adventures. And I couldn’t be happier, because as I step back, because my story has been told, there’s a whole new world that is going to be opening up for the audience, for this generation.”

Plot details for Creed III are mostly under wraps, a contrast to the first two films where a lot of information was out there pretty early in the game. Early rumors had suggested that the antagonist of the film could be the son of Clubber Lang, Mr. T’s character from Rocky III, but that does not seem to be the direction they’ve gone.

Creed III serves as Jordan’s directorial debut, carrying on a legacy that Stallone started in the original Rocky series. The actor and filmmaker wrote every screenplay, and directed all but Rocky and Rocky V. Each installment of the Creed franchise has been tackled by a different team so far, with Ryan Coogler directing the first from a screenplay he wrote with Aaron Covington; and Stephen Caple Jr. directing Creed II from a screenplay by Juel Taylor and Stallone, based on a story by Sascha Penn and Cheo Hodari Coker. Coogler returns to provide a story for Creed III, and the screenplay is written by Zach Baylin and Keenan Coogler.

Creed III is now scheduled to release in theaters on March 3, 2023. 

What do you think about him passing up such a large salary? Let us know in the comments below or by hitting up our writer @NateBrail on Twitter!