Sylvester Stallone and Dolph Lundgren are teaming up for the action drama series The International on CBS. Stallone was one of the world’s biggest action stars in the 1980s, and Lundgren later made his own name in action films, though the imposing Swedish actor obviously never became as big a name as Stallone.
Indeed, Stallone was largely responsible for making Lundgren’s career as a film performer when he cast the actor to play the punishing Russian boxer Ivan Drago in the 1985 hit Rocky IV. Lundgren returned in 2018 to again play Drago to Stallone’s Rocky in Creed II. Stallone also brought Lundgren on board for three movies in his on-going all-star Expendables series. Recently, Stallone himself revealed that he’s gone back to work on Expendables 4, though there have been no official updates about the future of that franchise.
Now, Stallone and Lundgren will team up once again, but this time on the small screen. As reported by Variety, CBS has given a put pilot order to Stallone and Lundgren’s one-hour drama The International. Lundgren is set to play Anders Soto, described as a “one-man covert black-ops team working for the U.N., who is called in to find asymmetrical solutions to the world’s most delicate and complex problems.” Stallone himself will not star (unfortunately), but will direct the pilot and also executive produce through his Balboa Productions company.
The International indeed marks Stallone’s first foray into directing television. The actor made his feature film directorial debut on the 1978 drama Paradise Alley, then went on to helm four movies in the Rocky series, including Rocky IV. Stallone also directed 2008’s Rambo, but elected not to get behind the camera for this year’s Rambo: Last Blood. In 2010, he directed the first installment in the Expendables series before handing off directing duties for the sequels. He is also announced to direct the drama Tough As They Come, about a wounded soldier returning from Afghanistan.
Unlike Stallone, Lundgren has a fair amount of experience in TV, having appeared recently on the CW series Arrow, while starring in the short-lived SAF3. Lundgren also just appeared on the long-running sitcom It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia in the role of action hero John Thundergun (which indeed sounds like the perfect name for a Lundgren character). Lundgren of course remains busy on the big screen as well, recently appearing as King Nereus in the blockbuster Aquaman.
Though it may be somewhat disappointing that Stallone and Lundgren are not set to appear on-screen in The International, it’s fun to think of the two old movie adversaries teaming up in some capacity. And of course, if the show ends up being picked up to series by CBS, there’s always a chance Stallone could go in front of the cameras as well and share the screen with Lundgren one more time.
Source: Variety