The two onscreen foes – Sylvester Stallone and Dolph Lundgren, have offered their respective thoughts about the planned Drago spin-off.
Just a couple of weeks ago Sylvester Stallone made headlines when he took to social media to launch a blistering public attack on Irwin Winkler, producer of the original Rocky film and holder of the rights to the character. Stallone was unhappy that, despite writing and starring in the 1976 original and contributing greatly to the series in the years since, he has no stake in the ownership of the character. When news emerged last week then, that a Rocky spin-off movie was in the works that would feature Rocky Balboa’s Russian arch-nemesis, Ivan Drago, it wasn’t difficult to predict that Stallone wouldn’t be involved.
That has now been confirmed, as the actor has once again jumped on social media to decry the new project, describing it as ‘greed’ that is the product of a ‘parasite.’ Stallone also won’t be involved with Creed III, the next film in the spin-off featuring Michael B Jordan as Adonis Creed, but he did appear in the first two instalments. However, when it comes to an Ivan Drago spin-off, Stallone seems far less enthused, writing that Winkler is ‘once again picking what is left OFF THE BONES of another wonderful character. I am sorry to the FANS, I APOLOGIZE to the FANS I never wanted ROCKY to be exploited FOR THIS GREED .. # no shame #sad day #Parasite.’
One person who really must be involved in a Drago spin-off would be Mr Dolph Lundgren, the man who memorably portrayed the charter in Rocky IV and more recently, in Creed II. Last week Lundgren was suggesting that the spin-off was most definitely in the works with his involvement confirmed. However, since Stallone’s comments, Lundgren appears to have slightly walked back his original comments, stating: ‘Just to set the record straight regarding a possible Drago spinoff. There’s no approved script, no deals in place, no director and I was personally under the impression that my friend Sly Stallone was involved as a producer or even as an actor. There was a press leak last week which was unfortunate. In touch with Mr Balboa – just so all the fans can relax…There ya go.’
So perhaps the Drago spin-off might not be quite as far along as was first thought. Whether this happens depends on a number of factors, but Lundgren’s willingness to participate is of course one of the key elements here. What are your thoughts? Would you like to see a film featuring the towering Russian warrior, carrying on story threads from Rocky IV and Creed II? Let us know and of course, we’ll bring you more on this story as we hear it.
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