The Rocky film franchise is expanding with a newly announced Drago spinoff, according to Variety. MGM issued no comment, though the film is reportedly now in active development after being a rumored project for many years.
Similarly, no plot details have been released, though screenwriter Robert Lawton will reportedly write the Drago film’s script. According to The Wrap, Lawton was hired on the strength of his spec script Becoming Rocky, which chronicles the making of the 1976 film, and won a 2021 Nicholl Fellowship–and subsequently impressed MGM executives enough to give him the job. Lawton has also issued no statement.
Dolph Lundgren, who originated the role of Soviet boxer Ivan Dragon in 1985’s awesomely divisive and divisively awesome Rocky IV, mentioned in a 2021 The Hollywood Reporter interview that a Drago spinoff might be on the way. Sylvester Stallone released his director’s cut of Rocky 4 in 2021, which–depending on where your tastes sit–either made the movie much better or much worse. (The robot that Paulie professes his love for, for example, is gone.)
If Drago moves forward, it would become the second potential Rocky spin-off film franchise. Creed, a sequel to Rocky Balboa and the seventh installment in the franchise teeing up the second franchise, came out in 2015. Creed 2 came out in 2018, and Creed 3 is currently set for a Thanksgiving release this year with Michael B. Jordan directing in what will also be his third outing as the character–the son of Rocky’s former rival. In Creed 2, we meet Viktor Drago–Ivan’s son–and it’s unknown if Florian Munteanu will reprise the role or be part of the newly reported movie’s plot.
This week, a trailer was released for Samaritan, Stallone’s next film. Stallone stars as the title character, a superhero who shuns the spotlight. Samaritan is due to arrive August 26 on Amazon Prime Video.
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