A trailer for writer-director Derek Wayne Johnson's Rocky documentary, 40 Years of Rocky: The Birth of a Classic, has officially entered the ring. The new doc, which is narrated by the Italian Stallion himself, Sylvester Stallone, will explore all eight movies in the inspiring franchise focusing on the life and times of Rocky Balboa.
According to Johnson, the documentary is "a charming piece of film history narrated by Rocky himself, Sylvester Stallone" that will be an "intimate, and at times, emotional experience."
"We’re proud of the film," Johnson added, "and audiences can expect new stories and new footage that they’ve never seen before."
When it comes to piecing the new documentary together, Johnson will pull footage from a variety of sources, including 8mm pre-production elements that were shot by ROCKY director John G. Avildsen. This footage, combined with materials belonging to Troma Entertainment's Lloyd Kaufman, will also be used as a part of the new documentary. Kaufman had served as Rocky's production manager for a time, though what he'd shot has never been seen until it was included in Johnson's latest deep-dive. According to those close to the doc, Kaufman's footage contains makeup tests, boxing choreography sessions and other moments involving Stallone and co-stars Carl Weathers and Talia Shire.
40 Years of Rocky: The Birth of a Classic is set to touch gloves On-Demand on June 9th.