Sylvester Stallone nearly signed off his acting career with 2006’s Rocky Balboa, but the film’s reception changed his mind. After breaking through with 1976’s Rocky, Stallone went on to an incredible run of hits, including the Rambo franchise. However, by the early 2000s, a string of box-office failures like his Get Carter remake saw Stallone’s stardom wane. Having been left dissatisfied with how Rocky V closed out his most famous creation, Stallone struggled for years to get Rocky Balboa off the ground. This saw the retired boxer come back for one final bout to prove to himself and others that age isn’t a barrier to achieving a goal.
Rocky Balboa’s story resonated on a personal level with Stallone, who felt forgotten by the studios and the general public. Stallone has called Rocky Balboa his favorite film of his own, but if it hadn’t been so successful, it may have been his last film and a closing statement on his career. Rumors swirled around the sequel’s release that Stallone’s retirement was imminent, and he addressed those feelings in a 2007 BBC chat. While he had already signed on for the fourth Rambo by this time, he stated “… I really have very little aspirations about acting, because I think that probably the best things have come and gone.”
Rocky Balboa Would Have Been A Perfect Retirement Film
Stallone also stated a desire to focus on writing and directing. The star’s comments are revealing about his mindset during this period. By 2006, he had been in the movie business for almost 40 years and had appeared in a variety of roles and genres. Like Rocky Balboa himself, Sylvester Stallone’s movie career had seen great highs and lows, and it made sense for him to use the character as an avatar for his own feelings about aging and feeling forgotten. The film might be the actor’s most personal project for that reason and would have been a perfect movie to end on.
Of course, both Rocky Balboa and Rambo were hits, giving his career an unexpected shot in the arm. Rather than pass up the opportunities that came his way, he opted to create The Expendables series and front movies like Bullet To The Head. After vowing to leave the role behind following Balboa, he reprised Rocky for the first two Creed movies; he was even Oscar-nominated for his touching work in the first Creed. While Rocky Balboa was conceived as a closing chapter for Stallone, it accidentally opened up a whole new book.
Will Stallone Ever Play Rocky Again?
When Stallone exited the Creed spin-off movie series following the second entry in 2018, the actor claimed it was so future films could focus on Michael B. Jordan’s titular character. It’s since been revealed a dispute with the producers of the Rocky films was the real reason. That makes a future appearance by the character unlikely – then again, he’s retired from the role MANY times before. He still has plans for a Rocky prequel streaming series with Amazon, so it feels like there’s still a chance – albeit a slim one – he has one last Rocky movie left in him.
