With the release of the I Play Rocky trailer, moviegoers and Rocky fans are anticipating the upcoming release of the biopic. The trailer landed like a left hook, showing audiences a glimpse of the feature film about an underdog actor who believed in his talent so much that he refused to let anyone else play the hero in his story about an underdog boxer.
While audiences know how the movie ends and that it won the Academy Award for Best Picture the year it was released — against powerhouse films like Network, All the President's Men and Taxi Driver — what many moviegoers don't know is the uphill battle it took to bring the film to screen with Sylvester Stallone in the lead role.
Everything about Rocky and the beginning of Sylvester Stallone's career is, well, underdog.
Wait...is Stallone Involved?
Rumors have swirled over whether Stallone was involved with the project. While he isn't producing or starring in the film, director Peter Farrelly, who won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for The Green Book, which also won Best Picture, has said Stallone read the script and gave the project his blessing before production began.
"The first thing we did was reach out [to Sly]," Farrelly stated in an interview with ScreenRant. When he received screenwriter Peter Gamble's spec screenplay, he thought it was incredible and agreed to move forward if Stallone was okay with it. "They sent it to Stallone. He read it. And then I met with him at the Beverly Hills Hotel in LA. I said, 'Hey, what do you think? I'm not gonna make it if you don't give me the thumbs up.' And he goes, 'Great. Do it.' So, we did it."
The Origins of Rocky
I Play Rocky is the dramatized story of Sylvester Stallone in the 1970s. This snapshot of the legendary actor's life starts with him as a struggling actor when he was receiving roles playing bit parts in prominent TV shows and movies like The Prisoner of Second Avenue, which was based on a Neil Simon play, Woody Allen's Bananas, and even an episode of M*A*S*H*. But he wanted more for his career, and realized if he was going to make it happen, he had to do it himself.
He wanted his big breakthrough, and needed a script for him to star in. The inspiration came in the form of a Muhammad Ali-Chuck Wepner boxing match in which Ali was poised to win easily. Only Wepner didn't give up, even knocking down Ali and going 15 rounds (Wepner lost). After the fight, Stallone was inspired to tell the tale of a down-on-his-luck boxer given the lucky break to fight the undisputed champion of the world.
The script was considered brilliant, but there was one problem: the unknown screenwriter wanted the main role. Producers didn't want to throw money into a project with an actor perceived to not be "Hollywood" handsome and "talked like he had marbles in his mouth." Stallone refused to give in. Even as the offers got generously higher, he stood his ground.
The story has everything audiences love: an underdog, Hollywood ambition, impossible odds and a built-in sense of nostalgia. The fact that Rocky celebrates its 50th anniversary this year only adds to the excitement.
I Play Rocky stars Anthony Ippolito, who has already played a 1970s struggling actor who the studios didn't want — Al Pacino in The Offer, the behind-the-scenes miniseries about the making of The Godfather. Ippolito nails the look, sound, and vibe of 70s Stallone (I watched the trailer and my wife, who couldn't see my screen, asked if that was the trailer for Rocky and I said it was someone playing Stallone — he's that convincing).
The trailer quickly made it clear that I Play Rocky isn't a remake of Rocky. Instead, it's a behind-the-scenes drama about the challenges of getting the original film made, stemming from the producers' belief that Stallone didn't exude Hollywood leading-man toughness, charm, and looks like Clint Eastwood or Charles Bronson (as indicated in the trailer). Based on the trailer, Gamble's screenplay appears to capture the same sincerity and emotional honesty that made Rocky resonate nearly fifty years ago.
So, do we need a movie about the making of Rocky? Of course. It's the all-American story of someone who came from nothing, forged their own path, never backed down from what he wanted, and found success when everyone seemed not to believe in him.
For screenwriters, this is more than a nostalgic look back at one of Hollywood's greatest success stories. It reminds writers that careers can be changed by believing in a script when no one else does. Stallone's refusal to sell Rocky without starring in it has become filmmaking legend - I Play Rocky will attempt to capture the determination and perseverance of a young actor willing to put everything on the line for the chance to go the distance.
Amazon MGM plans to have a limited release on November 13, 2026, before going wider on November 20 before the Thanksgiving holiday.
Watch the trailer here.