Did you know before Ryan Coogler ever made the movie that would solidify his directing career, Fruitvale Station, Coogler approached Sylvester Stallone to reboot the Rocky franchise?
In an eye-opening interview with Sylvester Stallone, Stallone revealed how Coogler did everything he could to land the directing job for Creed and damn it’s pretty inspiring.
Spoiler Alert
Coogler had the dream of killing off Rocky Balboa in the franchise and to metaphorically show a fight that Rocky could possibly never win. This concept of a franchise reboot took a while to settle with Stallone but, over time it inspired Rocky to produce Creed.
“Rocky stayed dormant for six or seven years, and then this fellow comes in, and says, “Oh, can we dig him up?” I go, “No, no, no, no.” Then he proceeded to tell me this story. My first reaction was it was disconcerting. It shows Rocky outside the ring, fighting the fight that he really can’t win. It’s a fight against the greatest opponent in the world; life. I said, “No, kid, I think we’re tampering with something here we should leave alone.”
It shows Rocky outside the ring, fighting the fight that he really can’t win. It’s a fight against the greatest opponent in the world; life.
But, it wasn’t until Fruitvale Station that Stallone believed in Coogler’s determination. “So he goes away and does Fruitvale Station. Wins all these awards, and he’s offered multiple job opportunities and he keeps coming back to Creed.” Stallone continues, “It’s as though he has to finish a mission, which was a love letter to his father who had been very, very ill and that stimulated the idea. There was just something about this kid, who was very, very physical in his manner, but sensitive and emotional. It kind of reminded me…of me, truth be told.”
Then Stallone finally saw Coogler’s determination and gave the director a chance.” So I finally said, “You know what? Someone took a chance on me, once. I’m just going to throw caution to the wind and let him run with it.”
“She stopped me and she says, “No, no, no, no, that’s the whole point. If you really do want to go someplace that you haven’t gone maybe ever, then test yourself and see what you’re made of.”
Stallone also said that it was his wife’s persistence to allow Coogler to produce the sequel. “She stopped me and she says, “No, no, no, no, that’s the whole point. If you really do want to go someplace that you haven’t gone maybe ever, then test yourself and see what you’re made of.”
