Apollo Creed has to be one of the most memorable characters created by any popular franchise. The boxer serves as the main antagonist in the first two Rocky movies and also makes appearances in the further installments before his character faced his end in Rocky IV. But looks like, after many years, Sylvester Stallone doesn’t feel good about the ending received by the character.
The Rocky franchise which started in 1976 put Stallone’s character of Rocky Balboa against Apollo Creed played by Carl Weathers. The character was very memorable and turned into a fan favorite in no time before facing his death in the fourth installment at the hands of Ivan Drago. But Stallone suggests that things could be better than what we saw.
Why was Sylvester Stallone not happy with the end of Apollo Creed’s character?
It can’t be denied that the character of Carl Weathers also held huge value to the Rambo star. Over the years, the star has regretted how he wrote Creed’s character and how it could have been better, had he not taken that path.
In the documentary, The Making of Rocky vs. Drago, Sylvester Stallone stated how they could have shown a different side of Apollo Creed if the end was written differently.
“It was foolish. I thought I needed that kind of springboard to propel the drama on this really great velocity moving forward. Him in a wheelchair, he would’ve assumed the role of Mickey. And now, his physicality has been diminished, we would’ve seen a different side of Apollo. He could’ve opened up all these other things that we didn’t even know about. He would’ve been kind of a father figure, brother, mentor.”
This also shows the love and respect of Sylvester Stallone which has also reflected in his comments many times. He has stated repeatedly how Creed was more special to him than any other antagonists introduced in the franchise. The First Blood fame also added that it’s due to the Carl Weathers character’s impact that a Creed spin-off franchise is also developed after a long gap of 40 years following the original franchise.
But surprisingly, the duo also had some complications when Weathers demanded an insane amount of money for a cameo in the sixth Rocky film.
Why was Carl Weathers called greedy by Sylvester Stallone?
Even though Sylvester Stallone spoke highly about his Rocky co-star Carl Weathers and the character of Apollo Creed played by him, he didn’t hesitate to call the actor greedy. Originally it was planned that Weathers’ character will also appear in the sixth installment Rocky Balboa. But it was failed as reportedly Carl Weathers demanded a lot of money and left humiliated by Stallone.
“Actually Mr. T and Ivan Drago are in a quick montage before the main event in Rocky Balboa. It’s only for a second or two, but I appreciate their agreeing to participate Apollo Creed is not in Rocky Balboa because he wanted many thousands of dollars for a two second piece of he and Rocky boxing. Unfortunately, we couldn’t afford it. Whatever happened to loyalty? Apollo Greed?”
Also Read: Sylvester Stallone Kicked “Greedy” Carl Weathers Out of $2.69B Rocky Franchise: “Apollo Greed”
Reportedly, the makers also wanted to include a special appearance by Creed in the spin-off starring Michael B. Jordan which follows the story of Adonis Creed aka the son of Apollo Creed. On the other hand, there is also a possibility of a seventh installment of Rocky which is currently in somewhat of a questionable state.
All the Rocky films can be streamed on Prime Video.
Source: Awful Announcing
