He even revealed what he would’ve changed in Apollo Creed’s fate in “Rocky IV.”
For more than 40 years, Sylvester Stallone’s “Rocky” film series has been a cherished element of American cinema. But did you know that Apollo Creed, one of the most recognizable figures in the franchise, came dangerously close to making a comeback in the 2006 movie “Rocky Balboa”?
“Rocky Balboa,” data-preserver-spaces=”true”> the sixth film in the “Rocky” series, was originally going to feature Apollo Creed, played by Carl Weathers. Stallone, the legendary actor, and director best known for appearing in the “Rocky” and “Rambo” movies had other ideas.
In an interview, Stallone revealed that he had wanted Weathers’ character to make a brief appearance in the film, but negotiations fell apart due to a disagreement over money.
“I was so blessed the day I met Carl, who is not just a fantastic actor, but a world-class athlete who did things that normal actors and human beings can’t do,” Stallone said in an interview with Deadline. “The fact that this is a movie called Creed, and it’s 40 years after Rocky, well, it shows the impact that Carl Weathers had with Apollo Creed.”
“I hadn’t seen that in the ring before. Dolph Lundgren was a good athlete besides being a Fulbright Scholar, and Mister T was a good athlete, but nothing quite like Carl.”
Although the script had previously been written to feature appearances from two of Rocky’s past foes, Stallone said that Weathers demanded too much money for too little labor, and the concept was ultimately abandoned.
In a separate interview with Ain’t It Cool News back in 2006, this concept is something he had explained before, saying, “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 regretting how Apollo Creed’s narrative ended in “Rocky IV” when the character is killed in the ring, Stallone voiced his dissatisfaction. According to him, he would have given “Creed” a different ending if he could remake the movie today. He proposed that Apollo might have taken on a mentor and father figure role for Rocky, bringing out many facets of the character.
Apollo Creed’s return through flashbacks was another notion floated for the “Creed” sequel, but it was never implemented. In fact, the plan was for Rocky and Apollo to appear together in both the past and the present, as per filmmaker Ryan Coogler, who had grandiose plans for the series. However, Coogler eventually left Creed to helm MCU’s “Black Panther.”