Sylvester Stallone has revealed that he’s preparing to retire his iconic character, Rocky Balboa, after his next outing in Creed III. The actor, also known for directing some films in the franchise, shared that his character serves as a mentor to Adonis Creed, portrayed by Michael B. Jordan. Adonis is the son of Rocky’s former rival, Apollo Creed, who was a key figure in the earlier Rocky films.
In an exclusive interview with Your Content, Stallone revealed that the studio is gearing up for the third installment of Creed, where he plans to make his final appearance as Rocky Balboa.
“They’re ready to go onto Creed III. Then hopefully I’m gonna turn in my bucket and towel,” Stallone told Your Content.
He expressed that he’s less enthusiastic about the current landscape of filmmaking, lamenting that it lacks room for originality.
“It’s a whole different world to when I started out. There is no more inspiration. It’s all very, very mathematical, presold,” Stallone divulged.
“They wouldn’t even make Rocky today, if they did it would be a little indie movie at best. I don’t know if the audience today would be as receptive as it was back then.”
While he’s looking to move on from the Rocky series, Stallone holds a deep sense of pride for what he’s accomplished with these films. After stepping away from another successful franchise, The Expendables, he turned his focus back to the boxing saga.
He reflected: “There have been over 300 boxing films made and none of them have been successful. I said let’s not do a boxing movie, it’s a love story and he happens to be a great boxer, that’s the story and it worked.”