Sylvester Stallone Officially Retires Rocky Balboa Role Following ‘Creed 2’

Sylvester Stallone says that he is officially retiring his iconic Rocky Balboa role following the […]

July 30, 2019, 2:07am

Sylvester Stallone says that he is officially retiring his iconic Rocky Balboa role following the release of Creed 2.

The legendary actor took to Instagram to share a video message with fans, where he made the announcement.

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“Well, this is probably my last rodeo because… I thought Rocky was over in 2006, and I was very happy with that, and then all of the sudden [motioning off-screen to Michael B. Jordan] this young man presented himself and the whole story changed,” Stallone said in the clip.

“It went on to a new generation. New problems. New adventures,” he continued. “And I couldn’t be happier, because as I step back, as my story has been told, there’s a whole new world that’s gonna be opening up, for the audience, for this generation.”

View this post on Instagram
I am reposting this because there was a technical difficulty. I just want to thank everyone around the whole wide World for taking the Rocky family into their hearts for over 40 years. It’s been my Ultimate privilege to have been able to create and play this meaningful character. Though it breaks my heart, Sadly all things must pass… and end. I love you Kind and generous people , and The most wonderful thing of all , is that ROCKY will never die because he lives on in you ….
A post shared by Sly Stallone (@officialslystallone) on Nov 28, 2018 at 6:49am PST

“I am reposting this because there was a technical difficulty. I just want to thank everyone around the whole wide World for taking the Rocky family into their hearts for over 40 years,” Stallone added in a caption on the post. “It’s been my Ultimate privilege to have been able to create and play this meaningful character.”

“Though it breaks my heart, Sadly all things must pass… and end,” he went on to say. “I love you Kind and generous people , and The most wonderful thing of all, is that ROCKY will never die because he lives on in you ….”

Stallone originated the Rocky character in the mid-1970s, and has continued to play the character across several other films, most recently in the spin-off Creed franchise.

In a subsequent post, Stallone sent out one more message to fans, thanking them for being so supportive of Rocky over the last few decades.

“Yo, due to the overwhelming and loving response to this wonderful character I just want to say one last final farewell,” the actor wrote. “Thank you again the bottom of our hearts …”

Creed II is currently playing in theaters. At this time there is no word on the future of the franchise, but the new film has been getting overwhelmingly positive responses form critics and fans alike.