Actor and producer Sylvester Stallone has been speaking openly about the latest Rocky spin-off Drago. He described producers as people who have “exploited” his successful franchise he made into “parasites.”
In an Instagram post on Saturday, the 76-year-old legend expressed his disgust, sharing a news article about the forthcoming movie and censuring those who created it.
He did not name any names, but his statements regarding the “94-year old producer” indicate that he is referring to series’ Irwin Winkler. While 91, he has received backlash from the actor countless times. He also seems to cite his children, showrunners Charles and David Winkler.
“Another Heartbreaker… Just found this out… ONCE AGAIN, this PATHETIC 94 year old PRODUCER and HIS MORONIC USELESS VULTURE CHILDREN, Charles and David, are once again picking clean THE BONES of another wonderful character I created without even telling me,” Stallone’s post read.
He ended his rant apologizing to fans, stressing that he didn’t intend for characters to be “exploited.”
“I APOLOGIZE to the FANS, I never wanted ROCKY characters to be exploited by these parasites.”
Stallone has strongly expressed his opposition to the film, but he clarifies that there are no feelings of resentment towards Dolph Lundgren, who plays Ivan Drago in Rocky IV and Creed II and is into filming the project.
“By the way, I have nothing but respect for Dolph but I wish HE had told me what was going on behind my back,” he continued. “Keep you REAL friends close.”
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Stallone Openly Expresses His Vision for the Franchise
It is no secret that Stallone has wanted to take control of this franchise for years. He uploaded a statement earlier this month in which he urged Winkler to hand him what was left of his right.
“After IRWIN controlling ROCKY for over 47 years, and now CREED, I really would like [to] have at least a little [of] WHAT’s LEFT of my RIGHTS back, before passing it on to ONLY YOUR CHILDREN,” Stallone said.
“I believe that would be a FAIR gesture from this 93 year old gentleman?”
“I wanted to leave something of Rocky for my children,” he further said, “but it’s always great hearing from the loyal fans… Keep Punching.”
Rocky Balboa was made by Stallone, who was struggling at the time to make a breakthrough into Hollywood. He would helm five movies and even direct Rocky II, Rocky III, and Rocky IV.
Stallone then came back for the Creed films, featuring Michael B. Jordan as Adonis Johnson, Apollo Creed’s (portrayed by Carl Weathers in the Rocky films I – IV) son.
The actor voiced his frustration about not possessing ownership stake in the franchise in an interview with Variety in 2019.
“I have zero ownership of Rocky,” he stated. “Every word, every syllable, every grammatical error was all my fault. It was shocking that it never came to be, but I was told, ‘Hey, you got paid, so what are you complaining about?’ I was furious.”
Although it is not clear where this war may lead them, fans can expect Stallone to star in Creed III, dropping this November 23.
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