Sylvester Stallone has starred in several iconic films over the years. Often working in sequels in some of the biggest franchises ever created, there doesn’t exist a movie where Stallone’s character has received a bad ending.
Talking about how his characters deserve a good ending rather than dying at the end of a film, Sylvester Stallone makes a promise to keep his character alive in the movies. This rule once saved his career but also made one of his franchises emotionless.
Sylvester Stallone Hates Sad Endings
Starring in the iconic role of Rocky Balboa back in 1976, Sylvester Stallone was supposed to finish the character’s journey with Rocky V. Having a change of heart during post-production, Stallone decided to change the ending.
As per the Netflix documentary titled Sly, the actor revealed that he really hates sad endings. In his entire career span, the actor hasn’t starred in a lead role where his character dies in the end! Thinking that people hate watching their main characters die, Stallone ended the documentary by saying some iconic words.
“I just hate sad endings. Shoot me!“
Well, this rule saved Stallone by letting him star in the Creed franchise as he was going to kill Rocky Balboa in Rocky V. The film was originally going to end with Rocky dying in the arms of Adrian in a hospital but the production studio changed the ending. When asked the reason, the production house stated that characters like Rocky Balboa should never die.
This resulted in Stallone’s character surviving and starring in subsequent sequels. The altered ending also allowed the actor to star in Creed which also became an iconic series and even got Stallone his first Golden Globe Award!
Sylvester Stallone’s No-Dying Rule Also Ruined His Franchise
Related: Arnold Schwarzenegger Finally Bows Down To “Genius” Sylvester Stallone For One Reason Only
*Major Spoilers For Expend4bles Below*
The actor recently starred in the fourth part of one of his iconic franchises, The Expendables. Reprising his role as Barney in Expend4bles, Stallone’s no-dying rule also ruined what could have been a thrilling end to the franchise.
During the first act of the movie, Barney dies in a plane crash and the movie is spent without Stallone present. It is revealed during the final act that he faked his own death to lure the terrorist out of hiding. This moment robbed the series of an emotional goodbye to Stallone’s iconic character due to Stallone’s no-dying rule.
With a rating of 4.8/10 on IMDB and a record low of 14% on Rotten Tomatoes, The Expendables 4 or Expend4bles is available to rent on Apple TV+ in the U.S.
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