MGM recently released the official trailer for Rocky vs. Drago, Sylvester Stallone’s eagerly-anticipated director’s cut of Rocky IV set to be released in November, and much to fan delight, that trailer contained a lot of never before seen footage. However, there was one addition revealed in the trailer that is of particular interest in how it changes Rocky IV: the addition of Mickey Goldmill, Rocky’s mentor and trainer played by Burgess Meredith.
In the trailer, there’s brief footage of Mickey in the form of one of Rocky’s memories. In the scene, Rocky is down on the mat in his fight against Drago (Dolph Lundgren) and in his memory, Rocky sees Mickey urging him to get up. While down, Rocky also has flashbacks of other people he loves and cares for telling him to get up and fight. It’s a moment that offers a bit more significance to Rocky’s ultimate defeat of Drago, one that shows his strength coming as much from his fists as from the support of those he loves.
The addition of Mickey in Rocky vs. Drago is also significant in that it now places the character in all five of the original Rocky films. The trainer and mentor previously had appeared in all of the original Rocky films except for Rocky IV as the character died in Rocky III from a heart attack, though would appear in Rocky V in a flashback. In fact, the footage of Mickey in Rocky vs. Drago is repurposed from that scene in Rocky V.
Originally released in 1985, Rocky IV was written, directed by, and starred Stallone as Rocky Balboa. The film was the fourth in the franchise that has since gone on to include eight films total with two more in development and saw Soviet boxer Ivan Drago (Lundgren) enter the professional boxing world with the desire to take on World Champion Rocky. However, Rocky’s best friend Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) takes on Drago instead and is killed in the ring prompting an enraged Rocky to fight Drago in the Soviet Union to avenge his friend’s death as well as defend the honor of his country. The film received mixed critical reception at the time of its release, but was hugely successful, earning $300 million at the box office. Rocky IV remained the highest-grossing sports movie for 24 years before being overtaken by The Blind Side in 2009.
Rocky vs Drago – The Ultimate Director’s Cut is set to be released on November 11th.
H/t: ScreenRant
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