How did a young Sylvester Stallone become Hollywood’s newest craze?
He might just be a weirdly buff old man these days, but there was a time when Sylvester Stallone ruled the Hollywood roost. He’s been responsible for box office hits and cultural touchstones in equal measure across his long career, being one of only two actors (the other being Harrison Ford) to have a number one film in six different decades.
Sadly, things haven’t been running so smoothly as of late for the former industry titan. His last major release, the regrettable Expend4bles, was roundly bashed by just about everybody. He was binned off the ‘Creed’ series, which proved it could exist just fine without him, and his last two films, a pair of cookie-cutter action thrillers called Armour and Alarum, both scored the dreaded 0% on Rotten Tomatoes. However, things might be looking up for the former Judge Dredd.
According to a report by The Hollywood Reporter, a project exploring the origins of Rocky is in the works. Amazon MGM will be producing the movie with former comedy stalwart-turned-Oscar winner Peter Farrelly in the director’s chair. Anthony Ippolito, who found fame playing Al Pacino in The Offer, is set to star as a young Sly in a picture being described as “the true Hollywood story about an unknown actor with an unshakable belief that he wasn’t just meant to write Rocky—he was meant to be Rocky Balboa.” And the ego-inflating doesn’t stop there.
In a separate report from Deadline, it appears that another film based on a Stallone property will also be coming soon. Set years before First Blood, the film, which has been given the title “John Rambo”, will follow the titular soldier on a tour of duty during the Vietnam War. Plot details are firmly under wraps, but it does seem like a star has already been chosen. Noah Centineo, known for his appearances in Black Adam and Netflix’s ‘To All the Boys’ series of romance movies, is set to don the iconic headband, with Sisu director Jalmari Helander in line to direct.
Why has Hollywood suddenly become obsessed with Stallone’s past?
Is this an insidious conspiracy based on the star’s newfound friendship with President Donald Trump? Highly unlikely, but that sounds like a great movie idea in and of itself. It might just well be that those two franchises are two of the biggest in film history. In an era where studios are more risk-averse than ever, it’s not surprising that they’ve plumbed the depths of the past once again.
Then there’s the long-running obsession of making movies about making movies. In recent years, we’ve seen behind-the-scenes stories about Citizen Kane (Mank), I Love Lucy (Being the Ricardos), and the aforementioned tale of the birth of The Godfather, as well as more generic tales about the so-called ‘real’ Tinseltown. You can add the upcoming Rocky origin story to that list.
As discussion rages on about the proposed projects and their chances of success, Hollywood’s recent interest in Stallone holds a mirror up to a larger trend of the film industry looking back on itself. If these movies are received well, then expect to see even more prequels and ‘making of’-style films over the next few years.
