Sylvester Stallone is known for two franchises: Rambo and Rocky. The former is trying to restart its legacy, but Rocky has already received new life in the Creed spinoff franchise. Michael B. Jordan takes the wheel as Adonis Creed, but Stallone is still involved in the series as a supporting character and a co-writer for Creed II. The franchise means a lot to Stallone, and the actor gave a touching speech to the crew after his final day on the set of the sequel.
Then the last moment, the very last day, the last shoot, it was this inspired torch moment, where Adonis is shadow boxing by the fire. That was Sly's last scene that we ever shot. So afterward when we finished shooting it, we called "cut" and Sly, just on his own, started talking and it turned into a speech. Everyone gathered around. It was the desert, at night, flames were going. He just kept talking about how the franchise was important to him and passing the torch to Mike. It was emotional for everyone. Like I said the actual torch flame was happening behind him. It was real quiet, the last day of production, the last hour or so. So everyone got really emotional. Beyond the project, it's the people you're working with. A reminder of why we do things and why we sacrifice our time to create and hopefully impact the world.
Steven Caple Jr. steps into the director's chair for Creed II, which finds Adonis fighting the son of Ivan Drago, the man who killed Adonis' father Apollo in the ring decades ago. The sequel moves from Philadelphia to Los Angeles, where Adonis and Rocky train for the big fight. Rather than the streets of Philly, Adonis trains in the deserts of California, which served as the final scenes that the sequel shot.
After Sylvester Stallone had completed work on his final shot in the movie, which happened to fall on the last day of filming, Stallone gathered the crew around for a passing-of-the-torch speech, Steven Caple Jr. told Collider. There were actual torches blazing behind Stallone, making the moment all the more appropriate.
Sylvester Stallone talked about the franchise he began back in 1976, how much it meant to him, and how Michael B. Jordan was stepping in as the main character. The Rocky franchise helped make Stallone's career and he's always had a creative role in the films -- either as a writer, producer, or director. It's easy to see how much the franchise means to him and being able to breath new life into it through Creed.
You can see the latest film in the Rocky franchise, Creed II, in theaters right now. For more movie news and updates, keep it right here at CinemaBlend.
