Sylvester Stallone Brings Two Testosterone-Heavy Series To Television

Sylvester Stallone is coming to television, and seeing as though he might want to make up for not having done so earlier in his career, the Rocky and Rambo star is taking on two television projects at once. First up, Stallone will be developing his own show, a reality/competition show entitled Ultimate Beastmaster, and, as fans of Stallone might expect, the series will involve physical competitions among driven contestants. Also on tap for Sylvester is a mob series called Omerta, which will be adaptated from a novel by The Godfather author, Mario Puzo.

Sly Stallone To Offer Fans An Opportunity To Become The Ultimate Beastmaster

The new Netflix series to be produced by Stallone will be similar to the Gladiator (or American Gladiators in the states) series in which contestants compete on an obstacle course. The course, known as “The Beast” will challenge players and test agility, strength, speed, and endurance. Each of the 10 hour-long episodes will feature 12 competitors striving to be named the Beastmaster. The final episode will pit the nine winners against one another and the winner of that competition will be named the “Ultimate Beastmaster.”

“The invitation to partner with Netflix and mega-producer Dave Broome on this revolutionary concept was an opportunity I couldn’t resist,” says Stallone of his participation on Ultimate Beastmaster. “The world will watch in awe as amazing competitors from around the globe overcome grueling physical challenges — and in the process become champions and heroes. The course is unequaled in its daring creation and I am excited to be a part of it.”

While the series may draw competitors from all walks of life, eager for their chance to shine as the Ultimate Beastmaster, there has been no mention yet of what prizes might be won by the champions. Presumably, the Stallone-produced series will offer prizes for the winner of each of the first nine competitions and a greater prize for the Ultimate Beastmaster of the season.

Sylvester Stallone Signs Up To Join The Mafia In Omerta

In a second television production, Sylvester Stallone will be joining the cast in an adaptation of Mario Puzo’s novel Omerta. While The Godfather adaptation took on a life of its own on film, spawning a series of sequels, the Puzo novel is actually the first book in a series of books with The Last Don making up the second novel. The trilogy completes with Omerta and it’s this last novel that will be the source material for the television series of the same name. Omerta, published posthumously, did not achieve the same critical success as its predecessors, but it may do better in a small screen re-interpretation, especially with Sly Stallone and Training Day director Antoine Fuqua on board.

Interestingly, Stallone has never been cast in a mob story, prior to Omerta. He played a minor part as a mobster in Cannonball! (1976) and, as Rocky (1976) starts out, Stallone’s titular character is seen as a leg breaker for a local mobster, but Sly has never really played a major role as a mafioso. Given the pride Stallone has in his Italian heritage and the role Italians have historically played in the development of organized crime, it seems as though the Rambo actor might have considered roles in previous mob-related films.

Sylvester Stallone will play Raymonde Aprile in Omerta.

Plans for Omerta are early yet. Aside from news of Stallone’s involvement and Fuqua’s participation as director, nothing else has been revealed as of this early date. Omerta is still searching for a distributor, as well. This could mean the Stallone-fueled series could end up on television or on a streaming service, such as Netflix or Amazon Prime.

[Image by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for CinemaCon]