Rocky Balboa is (sort of) returning to the big screen.
Amazon MGM has released a first look at “The Offer” actor Anthony Ippolito, who plays a young Sylvester Stallone in “I Play Rocky,” a true story about the turbulent making of the 1976 boxing classic “Rocky.”
“This film tells the true story of Sylvester Stallone and his unwavering belief that he should have not only written ‘Rocky’ but also become Rocky Balboa,” the Instagram caption reads.
Long before he became an on-screen action hero, Stallone, 29, was a struggling actor with partial facial paralysis and a speech impediment. He wrote the screenplay for Rocky, but refused to sell the rights unless he starred in it. After turning down a six-figure contract, he had the film made for less than $1 million. The ultimate underdog story, “Rocky” became the year’s biggest box office hit and ultimately won the Best Picture Oscar. The original “Rocky” cemented its place in Hollywood history and later spawned several sequels and a “Creed” spinoff series.
“I Play Rocky,” directed by “Green Book” director Peter Farrelly, is currently in production. Ippolito will co-star alongside Stephen James, who plays Carl Weathers, who plays Rocky’s fierce rival Apollo Creed, as well as AnnaSophia Robb, Matt Dillon, PJ Byrne, Tracy Letts and Jay Duplass.
“I Play Rocky” will be produced by Farrelly, former Warner Bros. Pictures chief Toby Emmerich and Christian Baha. Peter Gamble (The Office Uprising) wrote the screenplay.
When the film was announced in 2024, Baha described the story of “I Play Rocky” as “as unique as Sylvester Stallone himself, a seemingly ordinary man with an undeniable talent who needs to be shared with the world and who refuses to take ‘no’ for an answer.”
