Sylvester Stallone Jokes About Rumors of His Demise: ‘Great to Be Back From the Dead’

Sylvester Stallone took to Instagram to joke about recent death rumors, saying, “It’s so great to be back from the Dead!!!”

In a video post on the social media site, Stallone shared a video of himself having locked his daughters “outside during a slight hail storm.”

The girls can be seen banging on the door and laughing while their father jokingly asks them if it’s “cold.”

At the end of the clip he turns the camera on himself and quips, “That’ll teach ’em.”

The Rocky star’s joke comes after reports surfaced on Feb. 19 that he died after a long, secret battle with prostate cancer.

Stallone set the record straight in a separate Instagram post, writing, “Please ignore this stupidity… Alive and well and happy and healthy… Still punching!”

“Still punching” is a way of life for Stallone, as he is preparing to shoot the sequel to the Rocky spin-off, Creed.

The film will reportedly focus on Michael B. Jordan’s Adonis Creed, son of Carl Weathers’ Apollo Creed, looking to take on the son of Ivan Drago, the Russian boxer played by Dolph Lundgren, who killed his father in the ring in Rocky IV.

Creed was written and directed by Ryan Coogler, who directed Marvel’s Black Panther film, which also stars Jordan. Stallone was originally scheduled to handle directing duties on the sequel but instead he and Jordan chose Steven Caple Jr. (The Land) to take over the film.

Stallone did, however, retain writing duties on the film and in the summer of 2017 he confirmed he had finished it.

The first film debuted on Nov. 25, 2015, to much praise from critics and Rocky fans alike. It earned an estimated $173 million at the box office on a budget of $40 million, and earned Stallone an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

Jordan spoke to Deadline in January and Creed 2 happened to come up during the conversation.

The actors was asked about the status of the project and he replied, “Well, Steven Caple Jr. is going to direct it, and I’m really excited about working with him. Right now, we’re in the process of getting the script tight and making sure that it’s perfect.”

Finally, speaking about when the film may begin shooting, Jordan explained that he was “Not exactly sure when we’re starting,” but added, “In the next few months we’ll get back to it and try to deliver a solid project in Creed 2.”