Sylvester Stallone may have more to say about the Rocky franchise in light of MGM developing a spinoff film centered around Ivan Drago.
Stallone, who wrote the screenplay for 1976’s Oscar-winning Rocky, in which he stars as boxer Rocky Balboa, took to Instagram on Saturday to criticize the planned Drago film, which was written by Robert Lawton, as first reported this week from The Wrap. Although Stallone didn’t directly name anyone in his latest post, his reference to a “94-year-old producer” is apparently a reference to Irwin Winkler, who is 91 and has a production credit on all of the Rocky films, in addition to the subsequent Rocky spinoff films. Creed.
“Another heartbreaker… I just got this… AGAIN, A PATCHET 94 year old PRODUCER and HIS SELFISH USELESS CHILDREN pick up what’s left of the BONES of another wonderful character!!!” Stallone wrote of Drago. “Seriously, how do you weasels look in the mirror???”
The star continued: “SORRY TO THE FANS, I APOLOGIZE TO THE FANS, I never meant for ROCKY to be exploited FOR THIS GREED .. #shameless #sadday #Parasite.”
Drago is set to revisit Ivan Drago, portrayed by Dolph Lundgren in 1985’s Rocky IV and later in 2018’s Creed II. Lundgren previously teased a potential spinoff film in a November 2021 interview with The Hollywood Reporter.
Stallone’s announcement follows his July 16 Instagram post that criticized Winkler by name, calling him the “remarkably untalented and parasitic producer of Rocky and Creed.” The post also criticized Irwin’s son, David Winkler, who is credited with producing the Creed films, including the first in 2015, which starred Michael B. Jordan and earned Stallone an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his reprise of Balboa.
In a follow-up post on July 17, Stallone wrote that he was upset about an ownership dispute surrounding the franchise. “I would really like to [to] to take back at least a little of what’s REMAINING of my RIGHTS before handing it over to YOUR KIDS ONLY – I believe that would be an HONEST gesture,” Stallone wrote, directing his ire at Irwin.
Both earlier posts have been deleted.
Irwin Winkler and Robert Chartoff are credited as the sole producers of the first five Rocky films. The 2006 Rocky Balboa revival franchise credited six producers, including David Winkler and Irwin’s other son, Charles Winkler.
The Creed films focus on Michael B. Jordan as the son of the late Apollo Creed, portrayed in the Rocky films by Carl Weathers. Stallone and Irwin Winkler are credited as producers on the Creed films, as are David and Charles, in addition to others. Chartoff produced the first Creed before his death in 2015.
Last month, Stallone told Metro that he had “given up” appearing in Creed III due to the story’s changing directions, but that he supported the film. Creed III, which hits theaters on March 3, 2023, counts Jordan as director and star.
The portrayal of Rocky Balboa originated in Stallone’s 1976 Rocky script, and his contract called for him to play the title role. Stallone told Variety in 2019 that he had “zero ownership of Rocky” and that he was “furious” about it.
“Our commitment to him was that he could be in it,” Winkler recalled to The Hollywood Reporter in 1983 about making the first Rocky with Chartoff. “We convinced United Artists to give us the money to do it. They only gave us a limited amount of money and said we had to provide our houses as collateral. We really mortgaged ourselves to make sure we got it in on time, and we did.
Representatives for Irwin Winkler and Stallone did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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