Sylvester Stallone is admitting that he deeply regrets killing off the beloved character of Apollo Creed in Rocky IV.
As many Rocky fans know, the moment is one of the saddest — and most shocking — in the beloved franchise’s history, and was a turning point for Rocky Balboa moving forward in his life and career. However, TMZ reports that Stallone says he wished it had never happened.
Sly stepped out to celebrate his friend and former co-star Carl Weathers’ 71st birthday this week, and revealed he was sorry for killing off Carl’s on-screen alter-ego, Apollo, too quickly.
“I have to admit I regret having Apollo passing away so soon. He was Irreplaceable. Besides being a great actor he is the BEST cinema boxer of ALL TIME! Truly amazing, GRACE, POWER, and UNBELIEVABLY FAST!!!!! Never ever to be duplicated! Thank you my friend, never could have done it without you!!!”
As fans already know, Apollo beat Rocky in the first film to retain his title, and then lost it in the rematch during Rocky II . In the third installment of the franchise, Rocky and Apollo solidified their friendship — and Creed helped Balboa to beat his nemesis, Clubber Lang, played by Mr. T.
In the fourth movie, Apollo wanted to get back into the ring to fight the formidable Russian heavyweight, Ivan Drago, in an exhibition match. During the fight, Drago brutally beat him to death, and Rocky blamed himself for not stopping the fight.
Years later, the franchise was rebooted when Michael B. Jordan was cast as Apollo’s son, Adonis Creed — a boxer with a chip on his shoulder who had something to prove. Adonis Creed wanted Rocky to serve as his trainer.
Back in 2015, there were rumors that Carl Weathers was upset that he was not involved in the Creed reboot — and he even refused to comment on the speculation.
The report suggests that Stallone wanted to have Weathers appear as Apollo in a cameo during Creed II , where Adonis would see his father after being hospitalized following a brutal fight. However, the director put a stop to the idea.
As previously reported by the Inquisitr , Sly recently revealed that he was done playing Rocky Balboa — and that he was officially handing over the reigns to Michael B. Jordan. However, Jordan says that he’s pretty sure that his co-star will return to reprise the role in Creed III , whenever the movie begins to film.
Sylvester Stallone hasn’t officially confirmed whether or not he’ll appear in the next movie or not.
