Sylvester Stallone is writing a Rocky prequel that is “almost like Lady and the Tramp”
Sylvester Stallone has hinted at a prequel to “Rocky” – and compared it to an unusual Disney cartoon classic.
“The Rocky prequel is very close to my heart,” Stallone told Inspire me podcast. “I’ve written a few pages of it and it seems to write itself. Seeing Adrian at 15, Rocky at 17, Paulie moving to a new neighborhood. Rocky is the bad boy. It’s almost like Lady and the Tramp, but with real people. It’s going to be wonderful.”
Adrian is Rocky’s lover (and in Rocky II, his wife), played by Talia Shire in the original films, while Paulie is Adrian’s older brother and Rocky’s best friend, played by Burt Young. Stallone was 29 when the first Rocky film came out, so it seems like the prequel will take place about 10 years before the events of the 1976 film. And based on its comparison to Lady and the Tramp, we can probably expect a focus on the relationship between Rocky and Adrian.
There has been talk of a prequel television series since 2019, but there have been few updates and the project doesn’t seem to have really gotten off the ground. However, the fact that Stallone has written “a few pages” of the script is a promising sign that the ball could be rolling.
Stallone wrote, starred in, and directed all six Rocky films, and appeared in two of the three Creed films, which also star Michael B. Jordan as Apollo Creed’s son.
While we wait for more news on the Rocky prequel, check out our guide to the best upcoming movies still on the way in 2024.
