Why Was Sylvester Stallone Not In Creed 3? Explained

The Rocky franchise is still going on after 45 years! With decades on and on, the Hollywood star Sylvester Stallone made the Rocky franchise a Hollywood legend. The latest movie of the Rocky franchise, Creed 3, made a smashing entry at the top of box office history. However, it is also the first movie in the franchise in which the legend himself, Stallone, doesn’t appear.

Sylvester Stallone is a well-known American actor, filmmaker, and screenwriter best recognized for appearing in some of Hollywood’s most successful action films.

Stallone’s breakout role, however, came in 1976 with his self-penned script for “Rocky,” in which he featured as the eponymous character, a down-on-his-luck Philadelphia boxer. The picture was a huge success, winning three Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and launching Stallone into international stardom.

Stallone went on to feature in a slew of hit films after “Rocky,” including the “Rambo” trilogy, “Tango & Cash,” “Demolition Man,” and “The Expendables” franchise. He has also gotten praise for his dramatic performances in films such as “Cop Land” and “Creed.”

Sylvester Stallone and his association with the “Rocky franchise”:

Sylvester Stallone is most recognized for his portrayal as Rocky Balboa in the “Rocky” film series, which has nine installments. The first picture, released in 1976 and became a tremendous critical and financial success, was written by Stallone.

Stallone is a poor boxer from Philadelphia who earns a crack at the world heavyweight title in the “Rocky” flicks. Rocky’s path from underdog to boxing superstar and his personal life, relationships, and problems are explored in the movies.

Stallone appeared in seven sequels to “Rocky,” including “Rocky II” (1979), “Rocky III” (1982), “Rocky IV” (1985), “Rocky V” (1990), “Rocky Balboa” (2006), “Creed” (2015), and “Creed II” (2016). (2018). Rocky subsequently mentors Michael B. Jordan’s character, Adonis Creed, a young fighter.

Why was Sylvester Stallone not in Creed 3?

The ninth film in the “Rocky” series, Creed 3, dropped in cinemas on the 3rd of March, 2023. It is the first film in the series that did not feature Sylvester Stallone. Fans were upset and surprised when their favorite character, the one in the lead role throughout the entire series, was missing.

The ownership of the “Rocky” franchise has always been an issue. Even though it was Stallone, who was responsible for the creativity and writing of the whole script, he never actually owned the franchise.

There have been several strong statements in the past from Sylvester stating how the film industry is a money game and how selfishly people have acted around him, denying him at least a part of the ownership of the franchise he has created.

In Creed 3, Stallone was written out of the script, with no real importance given to his role. It was Michael telling a story. It was about his family, predicament, and path that had nothing to do with boxing.

Stallone didn’t want to feel his role being unnecessarily put into the film just for the sake of his featuring in the film. Thus he chose to stay out of the film. It was a change in direction that didn’t sit well with Stallone.