Creed 3 won't feature Rocky Balboa, says Sylvester Stallone. 1976’s original Rocky starred Stallone as Balboa, an underdog boxer improbably scoring a match against the world heavyweight champion Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers). A huge box office smash and award-winner, Rocky spawned multiple sequels, with Stallone eventually taking on directing duties as well as writing and starring.
But Stallone’s time as the main creative force behind the Rocky series came to an end with 2015’s Creed, a reboot focused on Apollo Creed’s son Adonis (Michael B. Jordan) and his own rise to become a boxing champion. Directed by Ryan Coogler, Creed featured Stallone’s Rocky as a supporting character, a move that netted the actor an Oscar nomination. After Creed was a huge hit, 2018 saw the release of Creed II, which again saw Rocky in support of Jordan’s Adonis Creed. In 2021 it was announced that a third Creed movie is going into production, with Jordan following the Stallone career path by taking on directorial duties.
Though Creed has now firmly established itself as a franchise in its own right, and arguably no longer needs the Rocky character to continue, there has been plenty of speculation about whether Stallone would return to again lend his presence on-screen alongside Jordan. However, Stallone seems to have now put all such speculation to bed. On Instagram, a fan who missed the news asked Stallone if Creed III is happening and he replied, “It will be done but I won’t be in it. Keep punching.” See the exchange in the space below (via JoBlo):
Though it definitely appears that Stallone will not be back on-screen as Rocky in the next Creed movie, the actor is absolutely not done with the character. Indeed, Stallone has thrown out several of his own Rocky-related ideas in recent years. One idea shared in 2019 would have Rocky training an illegal immigrant to become a boxer. A second idea, shared recently, is for a Rocky prequel TV series. Stallone of course has been working on a director's cut of Rocky IV as well.
Indeed it’s no surprise to hear that Stallone as of now is focused on his own Rocky ideas and has no intention of coming back for Creed III. After the original Creed, the hand-off from Rocky to Adonis had been made effectively, and Rocky had his own triumphant arc as he beat cancer. Bringing Rocky back for the second film to essentially root on Adonis from the sidelines frankly felt a bit unnecessary and almost demeaning, though it was nice to see Stallone play the character one last time (and face off with Ivan Drago again). But now there really is no good reason to bring Rocky back, as the franchise has grown beyond him.
The question now becomes how will Creed III deal with Rocky’s departure? Killing Rocky off is always a possibility, though ending the character’s life off-screen might come across as an insult. The movie could also simply move on from Rocky without definitively ending his story, giving Stallone a chance to decide Rocky’s fate in some future project. Of course, there’s always the possibility that Stallone wants to be in Creed 3 and they want him, and Stallone is simply playing things close to the vest during negotiations. Stallone's habit of leaving characters behind only to eventually return means fans should never say never.
Source: Sylvester Stallone/Instagram (via JoBlo)
