Rocky IV is the 1985 Sylvester Stallone boxing movie that takes on a fairly epic scope when it comes to its geopolitical themes, rugged and emotionally-gut-punching onscreen boxing matches, and the sheer scale and number of its montages that absolutely epitomizes the decade like no other movie has.
The film pits Stallone’s Rocky Balboa of good ol’ USA with his most challenging opponent yet, the USSR’s enhanced super athlete Ivan Drago, played by Dolph Lundgren, in a movie whose message centers around world unity amid the Cold War.
Now fans of the movie can be treated to a new cut of the movie crafted by Stallone himself, dubbed Rocky V. Drago: The Ultimate Director’s Cut, which MGM is helping promote by unveiling officially that it will have a one-night-only engagement in theaters via Fathom Events on November 11th, reports Variety. The screening will feature a Q&A with Stallone and a peek behind the scenes at the end that will be broadcast to certain venues.
MGM also announced the film will deliver 40 more minutes of never-before-seen footage and they unveiled a trailer for the director’s cut, which you can view at the top of this article.
In addition to the one-off theatrical event, the movie will also be available via rent on demand on November 12th.
Sadly, the birthday robot for Paulie, played by Burt Young, will reportedly be cut from this version of the film. The notorious non sequitur is part of what made the original Rocky IV such an era-defining classic and has since become a meme. However, if the robot’s exit from the film means more room for training montages and epic fight scenes, that should be a decent enough trade-off. Rocky V. Drago: The Ultimate Director’s Cut comes to theaters on November 11th and is available to rent on-demand on November 12th.