Stallone Rejected Rocky's Death, Revived Career

Sylvester Stallone, 79, says he was largely shunned by Hollywood for nearly a decade after Cop Land—dropped by agents including CAA—until a chance meeting helped revive his career with Rocky Balboa and later Rambo, The Expendables and the Creed films. He revealed he initially resisted Ryan Coogler’s original Creed pitch because it would have had Rocky die of ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease). After the illness was changed to non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, Stallone agreed to join and embraced the dramatic, non‑fighting role. That turn earned critical acclaim and awards attention, and Stallone later declined to appear in Creed III to avoid repeating the same mentor dynamic. As he ages, filmmakers increasingly cast him in mentor roles (including Tulsa King), and he continues to influence the franchise while Creed IV is in development.