t’s good being Sylvester Stallone these days, with the legendary star back in the limelight thanks to the release of his acclaimed new memoir, The Steps (order it here), the upcoming launch of Tulsa King Season 4 (with Season 5 already on the way), as well as I Play Rocky, a biopic that earned early raves at TIFF (read my review here).
While Stallone isn’t formally involved with I Play Rocky, he has supported the film, which ties in nicely with his memoir. However, Sly actually has his own idea for a Rocky prequel, telling EW he’d like to roll the clock way back before the first film takes place and revisit the character at sixteen years old.
“You meet Rocky’s father, his horrible mother, his half-brother. Because [the studio] took it out, a lot of people don’t realize that [the loan shark] Gazzo (Joe Spinell) was his half-brother, so they were raised together. And then you see Adrian (Talia Shire). He’s known Adrian and Paulie (Burt Young) for 10 years, and Mickey (Burgess Meredith) is 31 and a loser. So that would be great, because, again, for 16 and 17-year-olds, it’d be a great representation of their generation.”
This actually sounds like a no-brainer for a streaming series that could air on Amazon Prime. Considering they already have a Creed spin-off series on the way, and they’ve had a ton of success in the YA sphere, why not do a young Rocky series? With the character recognition, it could be a major hit for the streamer, especially if Stallone is involved. And who knows? Maybe if it works out, Sly would even be enticed back for Creed IV, which he’s always seemed open to. This feels like too good of an idea not to happen.
In the meantime, a Rambo prequel executive-produced by Stallone is on the way next summer, with Noah Centineo playing John Rambo during the Vietnam War era.
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