As Creed III opens to roaring praise during its opening weekend, with 2023 Oscars presenters Michael B. Jordan and Jonathan Majors squaring off, one notable absence looms large in the latest entry in the Rocky franchise. (You should read Caroline Darney’s terrific review about how Jordan’s directorial debut unfolds.)
Sylvester Stallone — the man who penned the original 1976 Best Picture film, its ensuing five sequels, and had been in all eight entries — does NOT appear in the latest chapter of Adonis Creed’s saga.
For the most part, as the series starts to veer more toward Creed’s story, Stallone’s absence isn’t all that noticeable. But for someone who quite literally created this fictional boxing world to not even make a short cameo is … a little jarring.
The situation is also a bit more complicated than it lets on. Let me explain.
Watch Creed on Amazon PrimeSo, why did Stallone skip Creed III?
The Rocky films are known for being uplifting underdog stories. The heroes get beat up and have to work their way to glory, but they’re never explicitly overshadowed by darkness.
At least, according to Stallone.
Per a 2022 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Stallone didn’t appreciate the tone Creed III takes with its story. With first-time director Jordan and long-time franchise producer Irwin Winkler transforming the series’ tone, Stallone wanted nothing to do with it.
More Stallone from The Hollywood Reporter:
“I wish them well [Jordan and Winkler], 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.”
Wait, did Jordan even want Stallone in the movie?
While Jordan’s never explicitly said he didn’t want Stallone to make an appearance, interviews have made it clear the star was interested in making the third Creed film a lot more about the titular character.
More Jordan from HOT 97 radio in New York:
“First of all, Sly [Stallone] and Rocky’s DNA is through this entire franchise … That underdog spirit, I think, connects the underdog in all of us. I want Adonis [Creed] to stand on his own two feet. In order to do that, we had to go into the past. What were those transformative years, those childhood traumas that shaped him today? I think the room for this story was really about Adonis Creed moving forward with his family, and having him move forward.”
The bigger reason Stallone doesn't even make a cameo is an ongoing feud with Winkler
After the release of the original Rocky, Winkler has owned the rights to the franchise — much to the chagrin of Stallone. The actor had sold them to Winkler without knowing it would morph into such a long-term success.
In the summer of 2022, Stallone penned scathing Instagram posts ripping Winkler while noting he would’ve loved to be able to pass on the Rocky rights to his children. At the time, with the release of the new Creed on the way, Stallone reignited his war of words.
But the damage was already done long ago.
Oh, yeah, there might also be an Ivan Drago spin-off in the works???
The Creed films, focusing on the family of actor Carl Weathers’ Appollo Creed, are already a spin-off of the original line of Rocky movies. When MGM revealed it would be making a separate story with Ivan Drago’s clan, this enraged Stallone.
He wrote another passionate and furious Instagram post, decrying how his life’s work was being “exploited.” Stallone and actor Dolph Lundgren, who plays the senior Drago, would eventually clarify the terms of their relationship. Lundgren maintained he didn’t know Stallone had no involvement with the possible film.
Is Stallone ever going to appear in a Rocky franchise movie again?
For now, it’s likely impossible to say.
Stallone had set aside his differences with Winkler to make appearances in the first two Creed movies. But that was probably because he thought those were more classic “underdog” stories. If Jordan, Winkler, and Co. continue to take any future entries down a “dark” path that Stallone doesn’t appreciate, it doesn’t seem likely.
Plus, if the franchise continues to focus more exclusively on the exploits of the Creeds and starts to dive into the origins of the Dragos, there might not be a place for Stallone.
That said, it’s hard to imagine the 76-year-old staying away forever. After all, these impeccably successful sports movies are his magnum opus. And if Stallone wanted to make even a short cameo in the future, I can’t see anyone at the helm denying him the opportunity.
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