Where is Rocky?


I like Creed III, but it would be nice if Rocky made at least a cameo or a post-credits appearance. I’m surprised he isn’t in the funeral scene considering how Apollo and Donny were his best friends outside of Paulie.

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Yeah I agree. I thought for sure he would have made a cameo during the funeral. Apollo was one of his best friends, made no sense he wasn't there.

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Didn't Apollo die in Rocky IV? How did he manage to die again in this one, or was it a flashback scene?

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Apollo's wife. If your best friend's wife, who also happens to be the adoptive mother of your protégé, died, you would probably be at the funeral.

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Ah, I see... Maybe then. I don't know though - haven't seen it for a while now but didn't Rocky go and see her in Creed 1 and it was the first time he'd seen her in years?

In fact - and I may be wrong - but I'm pretty sure she gave him a hard time for not being around at all... So maybe not impossible he wouldn't have been there, especially if not involved with Adonis any more. But then I haven't seen this, so not sure how there covered Rocky's absence.

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You were never going to get a Rocky cameo because Sly's feuding with Irwin Winkler. You won't see Sly again until Winkler's out of the picture.

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Winkler's been a producer on every Rocky and Creed movie so Sly might come back at some point. Sure they are feuding recently, but once that calms down I can see him doing a cameo. Sly has held this grudge since 1976 yet continued to be involved in all but one of the films in the franchise. Even Creed III, Sly is listed as a producer, though his involvement was probably miniscule.

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"Sly has held this grudge since 1976"

No, that is not correct. This is a recent thing. Sly talks about it in depth in a Sirius interview on youtube. He talks about what his deal was with Winkler and Bob Chartoff and how Winkler somehow went around and got the rights to Rocky from MGM and violated the deal they had.

"Sly is listed as a producer"

It's ceremonial at best. He had nothing to do with the production of the film and he got no money from the movie.

Hey, it would be nice if Winkler would get his head out of his ass and do right by Stallone, but don't hold your breath. Sly did say in the same interview I referenced that he would do "Creed IV" as long as Winkler were not involved, so it's not about "cameos."

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I'll have to listen to the interview. The interview I read he made comments that he was furious after the films were successful because of how they basically took advantage of his naivety and refused to give him ownership rights. But I guess he didn't actually confront them about it until 1985.

https://variety.com/2019/film/features/sylvester-stallone-rocky-ownership-stake-1203275639/

"I’m still having a tough time understanding why you didn’t insist on getting a piece of the very thing you created.

I think there was a certain code of business conduct, maybe not as much now, but back then, that you don’t ruffle the feathers of the golden goose. The studio is the power, the agency relies upon them, and the attorneys are the go-betweens. When I finally confronted them [just before “Rocky IV” in 1985], I said, “Does it bother you guys that I’ve written every word, I’ve choreographed it, I’ve been loyal to you, I’ve promoted it, directed it and I don’t have 1% that I could leave for my children?” And the quote was, “You got paid.” And that was the end of the conversation."

Yeah I agree it would be nice to see, but I doubt that is going to happen.

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So they didn't kill him off screen? That's good. I was sure that's how they were gonna handle it. One last spiteful nail in the coffin for poor old Sly.

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