Sylvester Stallone Shares Updates, Photos as Samaritan Resumes Filming

Samaritan, the superhero film starring Sylvester Stallone that went into production this spring before being delayed by the covid-19 pandemic, has resumed production and is going well, according to the actor. After some set-spy photos popping up in February, Stallone also provided an “official” look at Samaritan in the form of a shadowy, hooded photo of himself posted to Instagram. In the film (from Overlord director Julius Avery), Stallone plays a famous superhero, who the world hasn’t seen since he vanished from the public eye following a battle 20 years ago. When a young boy (Javon “Wanna” Walton) gets wind that this legendary hero might still be around, he goes looking for him.

Stallone has been pretty active on social media since the film returned to production, having released a piece of key art as well as a behind-the-scenes shot of himself getting scars and burns added to his face for the role. The film resumed production a week ago, but even while it was on hiatus, Stallone kept himself busy working on a director’s cut of Rocky IV that will be released on Blu-ray and 4k soon.

You can see Stallone’s recent Samaritan posts below.

The script for Samaritan was written by Bragi F. Schut, who also wrote Season of the Witch and Escape Room. The film has a lot of buzz, and had a few studios who wanted it, but MGM — the studio behind James Bond and Rocky, landed the movie, hoping that the “dark, fresh take” on superheroes will give them a new franchise.

This is Stallone’s first headlining role as a superhero, although he had a minor supporting role in Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2 and has said he is open to returning to Marvel if asked. He was also featured in the comic book adaptation Judge Dredd in 1995.

Stallone has been a Hollywood icon since Rocky in 1976, but his career cooled somewhat for a while in the late ’90s and early 2000s. He has been on a serious hot streak since generating a ton of awards buzz for his aging, tortured Rocky Balboa in Ryan Coogler’s 2015 film Creed. Last month, Stallone lost his mother, famous astrologer and wrestling promoter Jackie Stallone, at age 98.

Are you excited to see what Stallone makes of a superhero movie? Sound off in the comments below to let us know if you think this Kingdom Come-style comeback story is a good idea or not.