Sylvester Stallone Reveals Rocky IV Director’s Cut With New Title, Heading To Theaters And Streaming
Sylvester Stallone is finally releasing the Rocky IV Director's Cut, adding a bunch of time to the movie and giving it a new title as well
Sylvester Stallone is getting ready to release a director’s cut of Rocky IV, newly-titled Rocky vs. Drago. The film will be released in theaters on November 11th for an exclusive one-night-only engagement via MGM and Fathom. The widely loved movie will then be available on-demand the next day.
According to Deadline, the action star has added 40 minutes of never-before-seen footage to the 1985 film made during the U.S. Cold War with the Soviet Union. Sylvester Stallone wrote, directed, and starred in the film – an impressive feat for any actor. Critical reception was mixed at the time, but the movie was a huge success at the box office, earning over $300 million upon its release.
Rocky IV followed world champion Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone), as the Soviet Union and its top boxer make an entrance into professional boxing with their best athlete Ivan Drago. He initially wants to take on Rocky, but his close friend Apollo Creed decides to fight him instead. In a shocking turn of events, Apollo is fatally beaten and killed in the ring by Drago. An enraged Rocky decides to fight Drago in the Soviet Union to avenge the death of his friend and defend the honor of his country.
The movie featured a stellar cast starring alongside Sylvester Stallone. This included Dolph Lundgren, Burt Young, Talia Shire, Carl Weathers, Tony Burton, Brigitte Nielsen, and Michael Pataki. Moreover, Rocky IV was the highest-grossing sports movie of all time for 24 years, before it was overtaken by The Blind Side in 2009.
There’s been a lot of speculation about how different Sylvester Stallone’s director’s cut will be from the original Rocky IV movie. And thanks to an Instagram post from the actor in 2020, it seems like Paulie’s robot won’t be in the film at all.
When a fan asked Sylvester Stallone whether Sico (the mechanical maid owned by Rocky’s brother-in-law, Paulie) would have a bigger role in the new cut of the iconic film, the actor candidly responded with, “The robot is going to the junkyard forever. No more robot.”
As expected, a zillion follow-up questions as to the reasons behind the decision were asked. But the action star simply said, “I don’t like the robot anymore.” Fan disappointment aside, that is a fair enough reason. After all, Sylvester Stallone did create and star in the entire franchise.
Ever since the movie’s release, fans have found the odd-couple relationship between Paulie and his robot endearing. Sico was always complaining about Paulie sleeping in the same t-shirt. The robot also found the excessive cigar smoke to be offensive to its sensors.
In reality, Sico was created by engineer, Robert Doornick to help autistic children. Sylvester Stallone initially adopted the AI android to help his son. But after it became a huge hit with his family, the star decided to incorporate the robot into the film.
Sylvester Stallone’s poplar robot went on to have its own success following the movie. It guest-starred on Days of Our Lives, toured with James Brown, and even starred in Carly Simon’s music video for My New Boyfriend.
Meanwhile, as a bonus to Rocky fans, Sylvester Stallone will show a live Q&A in select Fathom locations along with a behind-the-scenes look at the making of Rocky vs. Drago. Tickets go on sale today on the Fathom Events website, which also includes a complete list of theater locations for the film.
