With advertisement for the upcoming Creed III ramping up, Rockyverse (is this the new name for it?) creator Sylvester Stallone has expressed his displeasure in where the franchise is heading and even called out producer Irvin Winkler.
Sylvester Stallone on Creed III
In the interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Sylvester Stallone said the direction Winkler and director Ryan Coogler took the movie is not what he believes should have been next.
“That’s a regretful situation because I know what it could have been.” Stallone continues, “It was taken in a direction that is quite different than I would’ve taken it. It’s a different philosophy — Irwin Winkler’s and Michael B. Jordan’s. I wish them well, 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.”
He’s even expressed disinterested of the recently-announced Drago spin-off that is in the works.
“This is a classic case of them going around and trying to continually cherry-pick aspects of Rocky without even asking me if I want to join in,” he said. “I’m not an executive producer on the Creed movies. Ryan Coogler is. Michael B. Jordan is. [Winkler and Chartoff’s] children are. Not mine. I’m the only one left out.”
And while Stallone wants the rights to his creation back, and he’s even pleaded for it, he knows that Rocky is gone and on to new owners.
“No. It’s never gonna happen,” he said. “It was a deal that was done unbeknownst to me by people that I thought were close to me and they basically gave away whatever rights I would have had. At the time I was so excited to be working and I didn’t understand this is a business. Who knew Rocky would go on for another 45 years? I’ve never used one [line of dialogue] from anyone else — and the irony is that I don’t own any of it. The people who have done literally nothing, control it.”
While Creed III looks very promising from the trailers we’ve seen, it’s rather disheartening to see Sylvester Stallone, the man who started it all, to disparage the movie so much. It seems like his lack of involvement has created some resentment from the Hollywood star.
Double Hammerfist 