Last July, Sylvester Stallone casually revealed on Instagram that he's working on a director's cut of Rocky IV. Stallone shared this exciting news while replying to a fan who asked if there would ever be a director's cut of the sixth film in the Rocky series, Rocky Balboa. While there are no plans to revisit Rocky Balboa at this time, we do have an official update on Stallone's new version of the 1985 sequel, including its official title, Rocky vs Drago.
In Stallone's recent Instagram video, the legendary filmmaker masks up and enters a near-empty building on Sunset Blvd where he's steadily piecing his director's cut of Rocky IV together.
"In my life, as you walk forward, the ground behind you disintegrates, so there is no retreat. When you go back and re-cut your film, I can guarantee that you'll approach it with sensitivity, wisdom, and confidence," Stallone declares in the video as he takes us on a tour of his office.
"All of us are entitled to follow our dreams, to stick to our beliefs because, in the end, that's all you have. If you keep believing in that, eventually, your dreams will come true," says Stallone near the close of the video, leaving us all with a few sage words of wisdom during these trying times.
After hitting us the above-posted video, Stallone dropped a brutal photo of Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren) giving Rocky Balboa (Stallone) a "hip breaking cheap shot." With a photo like this, one has to wonder what manner of brutality will be included when Rocky vs Drago steps into the squared circle. I wouldn't be too worried about Balboa, though, as Stallone has hinted that the Italian Stallion gets some "major payback" during the new cut as well.
In addition to the updates and look into the editing process for Rocky vs Drago, Stallone also revealed that a full-length behind-the-scenes documentary is being shot for the new release. Between this news, work progressing on Michael B. Jordan's Creed 3, and Stallone writing a Rocky prequel series, it looks as if we'll be returning to the legendary Rocky franchise more times than we had hoped for down the line.
Keep punching, everybody, and stay close for more details.