When a major character in a movie franchise dies it's almost always a big deal, but few on screen deaths have hit fans quite as hard as that of Apollo Creed in Rocky IV. Apollo was killed in the boxing ring by Ivan Drago and the moment was so monumental that the recent Creed sequel felt compelled to revisit it.
The two men involved in that sequence were Carl Weathers as Creed and Dolph Lundgren as Drago, and the pair apparently found themselves working out together, as a new image from Lundgren shows the pair together at Gold's Gym in Venice California.
Dolph Lundgren is absolutely right that Apollo is looking dangerous. In fact, both actors look great. If there was an actual rematch between the two, it would probably be one hell of a fight.
It was great to see Dolph Lundgren return to the Rocky franchise with Creed II. The film showed how the end of Rocky IV had impacted the character of Ivan Drago and his family. Of course, the problem with killing off a major character is that you can't bring them back for the franchise reboot, so we've had to do without a return for Carl Weathers.
On the plus side, Carl Weathers will be making a big return in another major franchise very soon, Star Wars. He's a member of the cast of The Mandalorian, the first Star Wars series which will debuting on Disney+ on November 12.
In addition to Creed II Dolph Lundgren was also recently seen in Aquaman, and the actor has a host of smaller films in various stages of production right now.
Interestingly, we don't what's in the cards for Carl Weathers in the future. He may have been at the gym simply to keep fit for his own sake, but he also might be there in order to get fit for a particular role. If that's the case, we have no idea what that role could be.
This picture makes one wonder why Carl Weathers was never in an Expendibles movie. He may be older but clearly he's in great shape and can hold his own in an action movie. Hopefully, The Mandalorian will let Weathers be part of some great action, which will then lead to more roles.
For the last several years Carl Weathers has mostly been a TV actor and it's time the movies took him back. We need him back on the big screen.
As for where Apollo Creed's son will go after Creed II. That's currently unknown. It seems likely that a Creed III is in the cards. The sequel did well at the box office and everybody involved seems willing to come back, so the name Apollo Creed likely isn't going anywhere, even if we can only imagine what an older Apollo would actually be like in the movies.
