Sylvester Stallone Teases Rocky IV Director’s Cut, Says It’ll Be Amazing

The Rocky franchise’s staying power has proved to be nothing short of incredible, with the series that originally kicked off with the low-budget drama of the original way back in 1976 still going strong today and the two Creed spinoffs receiving widespread critical acclaim and leaving fans crying out for a third installment to bring Adonis’ trilogy to a close.

Having been around for over 40 years and spanned eight movies, Rocky Balboa’s cinematic adventures haven’t been without their ups and downs, and by the time Rocky V landed in theaters in 1990, the general consensus was that the brand had well and truly run out of gas. However, as we’ve seen countless times over the years, you can never write off Sylvester Stallone resurrecting one of his long-dormant franchises, and following a return to form in 2006’s Rocky Balboa, the Italian Stallion stepped back into a supporting role as Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan gave the long-running sports series a new lease of life.

Creed and Creed II may have pushed Rocky’s box office earnings past the $1.5 billion mark, but the highest-grossing instalment still remains 1985’s Rocky IV, which even reigned as the most lucrative sports movie ever made for almost a quarter of a century before it was overtaken by Sandra Bullock’s The Blind Side.

In a recent exchange with a fan, Stallone was asked about a potential Director’s Cut for Rocky Balboa, and while that isn’t happening, he took it one step further and announced that Rocky IV would be the one getting reappraised in the editing room.

“I am not doing that, but I am doing a Director’s Cut on Rocky IV which will be amazing!!!!!”

Rocky IV remains arguably the most popular outing for the titular boxer among fans, largely down to the epic battle against Dolph Lundgren’s Ivan Drago and classic moments like Apollo Creed’s extravagant entrance to his final bout, James Brown’s “Living in America” and the glorious mountain-set montage that’s been parodied a thousand times. Now, with Stallone’s recent announcement, longtime fans of the franchise will no doubt be desperate to see how the addition of some extra footage impacts the experience.