News of the recently announced Ivan Drago spinoff movie likely came as a surprise to many Rocky fans but, above all else, it was definitely a shock for franchise creator Sylvester Stallone. After highlighting his already contentious relationship with producers Irwin and David Winkler over ownership rights, Stallone shared some not-so-nice thoughts on the spinoff, claiming that the filmmakers were exploiting the beloved franchise. After seeing the 76-year-old actor’s blunt thoughts, Drago himself Dolph Lundgren responded with a social media message of his own.
It was honestly only a matter of time before Dolph Lundgren got wind of Sylvester Stallone’s displeasure over the spinoff news. Upon seeing Sylvester Stallone’s words, Lundgren apparently reached out to the Hollywood icon. He and Stallone have been close for years, a major contrast from the contentious relationship between Rocky Balboa and Ivan Drago. After checking in with his friend, the Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom actor took to his Instagram to address the discourse and clarify some information about the Drago movie:
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 the whole ordeal was a misunderstanding, according to the 64-year-old actor. Per the star, nothing is set in stone, as there’s not even a script for the proposed spinoff at this point. At the very least, you have to commend him for stepping up and addressing the controversy caused by the news.
Dolph Lundgren’s statement does one reveal one particularly interesting piece of info, which is that he was apparently under the impression that Sylvester Stallone was involved with the spinoff movie in some capacity. Though based on recent developments, it would seem that the Oscar nominee isn't in the mix anymore. Recently, Stallone has been made it clear that he's upset over not having ownership of Rocky and Creed, despite having essentially birthed the franchise. One has to wonder how Lundgren got the impression that his former on-screen sparring partner was working on the project.
There have been rumblings regarding the proposed spinoff film's development for quite some time. The Drago spinoff is moving forward with Robert Lawton, who's been tapped to pen the script. Like Dolph Lundgren mentioned, not much is known about the film, though it's likely that the story will revolve around Ivan Drago and his son, Viktor, who was introduced in Creed II. We'll have to wait and see how MGM irons out deals for the stars' potential returns.
Meanwhile, Michael B. Jordan’s Creed III just hit a setback, as the threequel got pushed back to March 3, 2023, from its original release date of November 23, 2022. Sylvester Stallone may not be a part of the Rocky franchise anymore, but it seems that under the current producers, it's going to keep expanding one way or another.
We'll be keeping our eyes on more news regarding the Drago spinoff as it arrives. Also, be sure to keep your eyes on CinemaBlend's schedule of upcoming movies, which still features plenty of exciting titles. You can also get an Amazon Prime subscription to watch the first two Creed movies if you're in need of some boxing-related fare.
