Creed 2 co-star Dolph Lundgren doesn’t really believe Sylvester Stallone’s announcement that he’s retiring as Rocky. Creed 2 marks the eighth time Stallone has played the character, which began with 1976’s Rocky. The original film was never meant to receive a sequel, but after his follow-up movies failed to attract much business, Stallone set about starring and directing in Rocky II. The ending of each sequel seemed to indicate it was Rocky’s final bout before retirement, but Stallone would always come back for more.
He stated that Rocky V was the definite ending to the saga in 1990, but while the project was supposed to end with the character’s death, the studio insisted on a happy ending. Stallone was dissatisfied with the movie too, so after struggling for years to get it off the ground, he made 2006’s Rocky Balboa, where an aging Rocky proves his worth one last time in the ring. Again, Stallone believed it was the final chapter, only to be lured back for 2015’s Creed, where Rocky serves as a trainer to Adonis Creed, son of his late friend and former rival Apollo.
Related: Sylvester Stallone Hints Creed 2 Is His Last Time Playing Rocky
Stallone recently announced Creed 2 would be his final time playing the character, and the torch was being passed to Michael B. Jordan. Time will tell if the star sticks to retirement this time, but his co-stars Dolph Lundgren and Florian Munteanu don’t seem to buy it. During an interview on Good Morning Britain (via Digital Spy), when asked his opinion on the subject Lundgren stated. ‘I’ve heard that before. I don’t really believe it, but we’ll see.’ Likewise, Munteanu thinks he’ll return, just in a smaller capacity.
I don’t think so either, but maybe not the big way that he turned out in the Rocky and the Creed franchise. I think, like, a smaller role maybe. We’ll see.
Stallone’s announcement seems completely sincere, but considering he’s said the same thing numerous times in the past, it might be best to wait and see what happens when Creed III arrives. Stallone is currently filming Rambo 5: Last Blood, despite stating he was retiring from the role in 2016. In that instance, it appears a disagreement over the plotline of the movie convinced him to step away.
The iconic actor even announced his retirement from action films entirely following 1996’s Daylight to focus on more dramatic projects like Copland. It would be genuinely sad to see Stallone step away from Rocky Balboa, but after 8 movies and 42 years spent playing the role, the actor may feel it’s finally time to move on following Creed 2. Whether or not he sticks to his guns this time will be another story.
