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Many sports franchises in cinema history have not been hugely successful rocky. This film series premiered its first installment in 1976, and over the years, it has become one of the most popular franchises in cinema, becoming an element of our popular culture familiar to thousands of people around the world and used in many subsequent productions. the rocky Not only did the franchise prove to be a huge hit, but it also changed the life of its lead actor, Sylvester Stallone.
Even though he had been trying to find success in the industry for several years, Stallone was desperately struggling to get significant roles. However, after a flurry of inspiration after watching a match between Muhammad Ali and Chuck Wepner, he wrote the entire script for rocky In just three days, he then sets out to find a studio to produce the film with one condition: he must star in it. This made things very difficult, especially considering that, at the time, he was an unknown actor.
However, after much back and forth, United Artists agreed to grant his request, resulting in one of the greatest films of all time. rocky It was a huge hit with audiences and garnered critical acclaim and several awards. The popularity of this movie spawned a franchise with several sequels and spin-off movie series that are still running to this day, with big plans for the future. Here’s a look back at all of the films in existence rocky franchise.
Rocky Balboa, the Italian stallion
1976 movie rocky First introduced is Rocky Balboa, a young Philadelphia boxer whose life is turned upside down after boxing champion Apollo Creed chooses him as his opponent in one of his matches. Thus, Rocky goes from being completely unknown to one of the biggest names in the sports industry, something that changes his life dramatically. rocky It was directed by John G. Avildsen and it became the best production in the entire franchise. Its success led to the development of its five sequels: Rocky IIAnd Rocky IIIAnd Rocky IVAnd Rocky F And Rocky Balboareleased between 1979 and 2006.
Throughout the film series, audiences follow the famous boxer throughout his career, going through his golden years and each of his major matches until his retirement. Aside from Apollo Creed, Balboa’s most relevant opponents in the franchise include Ivan Drago, Clubber Lang, and Tommy Gunn, his first apprentice.
In addition to serving as star and writer on all six films, Stallone has directed four of them, with only Avildsen returning to the helm Rocky F. And while these productions have managed to retain a huge fan base over the years that they continue to be a cult following to this day, they have been met with somewhat mixed reviews: rockyAnd Rocky II And Rocky Balboa It performed well at the box office, but mostly to critical acclaim. Rocky III And Rocky IV, on the other hand, wasn’t particularly well-reviewed, but it’s still the highest-grossing movie in the original series. The only installment in the franchise that fared poorly both at the box office and with critics Rocky Fwhich many consider the worst movie in the world rocky series.
Creed: New Hero highlights
Sixth installment in rocky The film series hit theaters in 2006, 16 years after the previous film. At the time, this movie was supposed to be the end of the popular sports franchise, which is also working on payback Rocky Fflop. However, this franchise’s journey was far from over, which is why 2015 saw the release of creedthe first show of the Rocky series.
This production by Ryan Coogler introduces audiences to Adonis, an amateur boxer and son of superstar athlete Apollo Creed who, with the help of his trainer and mentor Rocky Balboa, becomes a promising boxing star. And so, as with The Italian Stallion, fans once again follow the story of a promising athlete from his beginnings to the moment of his retirement. Michael B. Jordan leads the cast, along with Stallone, Tessa Thompson, Phylicia Rashad, and Tony Bellew.
creed It proved to be a hit with critics and audiences, prompting the development of two sequels. the first, The second dogma, was released in 2018, with Stephen Capley Jr. serving as director. As for Creed IIIwas released in theaters earlier this year, marking the debut of Michael B. rocky A privilege not to feature Stallone as a cast member. Unlike the original movie series, both creedHis films have garnered rave reviews and turned into box office successes.
What does the future hold for this franchise?
As of today, the rocky The franchise consists of nine films: six focusing on Rocky Balboa, and three about Adonis Creed. And that doesn’t seem to be the end of this franchise, as it has a very promising future ahead with several new projects that could follow. One product that has already been confirmed by its main star is creedFourth movie. In an interview with IGN this past February, Jordan announced that he would be reprising the role of Donnie in a new game creed sequel, and that there are also some spin-offs under consideration regarding popular characters in the franchise, though there is no further news about any of these productions at this time.
Another upcoming project in the franchise that has fans waiting with anticipation is Drago, the spin-off movie about Ivan Drago. This film, still in development, was announced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 2022, with Robert Laughton serving as screenwriter.
On top of these two films, Stallone announced in 2019 that he was working on the script for a seventh film rocky film, for which he was once again working as a lead actor and writer. However, after constantly arguing with producer Irwin Winkler over the rights to the franchise, the actor confirmed earlier this year that this new installment will never see the light of day.
