Fantastic news for fans of the iconic boxing-film ‘Rocky’. ‘Rambo’ star Sylvester Stallone took to Instagram to make a revelation about his plans to make a potential spin-off television series based on the origins of the parent film ‘Rocky’ and its principal characters in their younger years. Stallone had first expressed his desire for a ‘Rocky’ prequel in 2019 but nothing concrete came out of it.
Recently, Stallone shared a picture of his hand-written note (titled ‘Treatment for Rocky prequel series), revealing his initial creative writing process for the prequel, which he has hinted to have received a possible nod from MGM studios. He further wrote that the series should span a few seasons, with each season, ideally comprising ten episodes – to get into the heart of the characters.
Since the original ‘Rocky’ movie released in the year 1976, the prequel will be set in the 1960s – the most transformative era in modern history, according to Stallone. As per his hand-written note, the show will possibly touch upon contemporary themes of the 60s such as The Moon Landing, The Sexual Revolution, The New Left, Hippie Movement, The Cold War and the Civil Rights Movement, yet essentially focusing on the rather plain life of Robert Rocky Balboa.
It is quite possible that these nostalgic events will be brought to life and may somehow be chronicled around the principal characters of the film including Rocky himself, Mickey, Adrian, and Paulie. Perhaps, Stallone might derive some inspiration from Robert Zemeckis’ 1994 film ‘Forrest Gump’ (which employed a similar narrative structure), to incorporate these elements in his screenplay.
The Academy Award-winning film ‘Rocky’ revolved around a kind-hearted struggling boxer cum debt collector from Philadelphia, who, by a stroke of fate, gets a rare shot to fight the current heavyweight boxing champion Apollo Creed (played by Carl Weathers). ‘Rocky’ was followed by seven sequels and the eighth sequel ‘Creed III’ starring Michael B. Jordan is expected to release in 2022.
It’s an interesting fact that ‘Rocky’ was the first Sports film ever to win an Oscar for the ‘Best Film’. With just $106 in his bank account, Rocky’s first draft was written by Stallone himself in merely three days and it was reportedly partially inspired by his own life events. Shot in just 28 days, this rags-to-riches underdog story went on to become the highest-grossing movie of 1976.
Considering the box-office track record of Stallone’s Rocky series besides his priceless goodwill, and its tremendous fan following, there remains no doubt that streaming services all over the world will be running after the Rocky prequel. However, to know who will be cast as the younger ‘Italian Stallion’ and when will the show go on floors, keep an eye on this section. In the meantime, you can get tuned, for nostalgia’s sake, to the inspiring Rocky theme song ‘Gonna Fly Now’ (see below).
We’re hiring!
We are hiring two full-time junior to mid-level writers with the option to work remotely. You need to work a 5-hour shift and be available to write. Interested candidates should email their sample articles to [email protected]. Applications without a sample article will not be considered.
