Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky films are arguably the actor’s career-defining franchise and Rocky Balboa has become one of the most inspiring characters in film history. His underdog story and his determination to never back down, connected with many people. The franchise’s first two films remain the best entries which established Rocky Balboa as a strong-willed character.
The two films had the greatest fights in the franchise, fueled by an intriguing story. The rivalry between Stallone’s Rocky Balboa and Carl Weathers’ Apollo Creed over the two films crescendoed with Rocky II in an epic fight where Balboa emerged victorious. Stallone has now released a behind-the-scenes video of him and Weathers practicing for the final fight.
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Sylvester Stallone Gives A Sneak Peek Of His Preparation for Rocky II‘s Final Fight
The Rocky Balboa-Apollo Creed Saga was the main narrative focus of Sylvester Stallone’s first two Rocky films. The films also were the strongest in the franchise where character motivations and emotion fueled the fights, making it interesting and impactful.
Stallone recently posted a behind-the-scenes video of him and Carl Weathers practicing for the final fight in Rocky II on Instagram. Both actors can be seen practicing their choreography for the fight and their commitment is fascinating to watch. Stallone captioned the video saying,
“Practicing for the final fight in Rocky 2. Rare footage. Thought it be fun to share. Keep punching.”
While Weathers’ Apollo Creed was declared the winner through a split decision in the first film, their rematch in the second film resulted in a resounding victory for underdog Rocky Balboa. Stallone went on to play the character for over 6 Rocky films and the first two Creed films. The character is already a cinematic icon and is still very popular in modern pop culture.
Rocky Balboa Initially Had a Different Treatment In The First Film
Rocky Balboa’s underdog story resonated with audiences worldwide and his relationship with Talia Shire’s Adrian became the emotional core of the franchise. However, the character had a rather dark treatment inspired by Mean Streets in its early scripting stages. Sylvester Stallone revealed this information in his Netflix documentary Sly.
He claims that when he showed the script of the first film to his friend, she did not like the characterization of Rocky Balboa, concluding that he was too cruel and would not generate any sympathy from audiences. Stallone started adding some relatable and human characteristics to Balboa after her feedback. He said, (via Deadline)
“She goes, ‘I hate Rocky. I hate him. He’s cruel. He hits people. He beats them up.’ I said, ‘what if you stop short of it?’ Like, maybe he almost did. He could have, that’s his job, but he doesn’t?’ ‘That’d be nice,’” he added. “I said, ‘What if he had a girlfriend or something?’ ‘Yeah, that’s nice.’ So I go back, start writing that: ‘Girlfriend. Nice.’”
As of 2024, Stallone’s action film Armored is expected to release sometime during the year. He also has the sequel to Demolition Man in the works and the second season of his hit Paramount Plus series Tulsa King in development.
