It may have been 36 years since the movie was first released, but the role of Ivan Drago in Rocky IV is arguably still the most famous of Dolph Lundgren’s career, one that served as the launchpad for a career as an actor, director and producer that’s still going strong today.
He’s remained friends with Sylvester Stallone ever since, and they’ve gone on to collaborate on four Expendables movies, while Lundgren also reprised his iconic pugilist in Rocky spinoff Creed II, and recently teased that MGM could be planning another offshoot of the franchise focused on Florian Munteanu’s Viktor Drago.
Stallone’s Rocky vs. Drago – The Ultimate Director’s Cut refits the popular cheesefest into a more hard-hitting drama that removes a lot of the sillier trappings, trimming the fat while still adding 40 minutes of new footage. Lundgren is clearly a fan of the brand new edition of what remains the third highest-grossing film he’s ever appeared in behind Aquaman and The Expendables 2, after describing it as a “very deep and gritty drama”.
Stallone has been open in admitting that he was never really happy with the theatrical edition of Rocky IV despite the success it enjoyed, and the Director’s Cut has been winning rave reviews from fans and critics alike, with Lundgren the latest to endorse the fresh spin on the Cold War battle between the Italian Stallion and The Siberian Express.
