“Another heartbreaker”: Sylvester Stallone calls out producer over new Rocky ‘Drago’ spinoff

Rocky series star Sylvester Stallone has publicly called out the producers over the announcement of the new Rocky spinoff. These comments came after The Wrap reported that MGM Studios had greenlit a Rocky/Creed spinoff movie titled Drago on Thursday, July 28.

Sylvester Stallone took to Twitter and Instagram on Saturday to express his disappointment over the producers' choice not to inform him of this decision. In his social media posts, the 76-year-old veteran actor labeled Rocky series producer Irwin Winkler as "pathetic" and called his children "moronic useless vultures." Stallone began the post by writing:

"Another Heartbreaker… Just found this out…"

The recently announced film will be based on Dolph Lundgren's Ivan Drago and the character's son, Viktor, portrayed by Florian Munteanu. Both of these characters were last seen in 2018's Creed II, which also starred Sylvester Stallone and Michael B. Jordan.

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What did Sylvester Stallone say about the recently announced Rocky/Creed film based on Drago?

Two days after the upcoming project was reported online, Stallone took to his Instagram to express his disapproval over the spinoff film on Drago. In the Instagram post, the Samaritan star shared a screenshot of a media report on the same and did not mince his words in the caption. The caption further mentioned:

"ONCE AGAIN , this PATHETIC 94-year-old PRODUCER and HIS MORONIC USELESS VULTURE CHILDREN, Charles And David, are once again picking clean THE BONES of another wonderful character I created without even telling me…"

However, the New York native clarified that he had "nothing but respect for my true friend, Dolph Lundgren." Sylvester Stallone further expressed that he never wanted the characters he wrote to be exploited by these producers, whom he called 'parasites.'

Sylvester Stallone took to his official Twitter to once again call out the 91-year-old Irwin Winkler and sarcastically congratulated him and his family for "beating another wonderful character into the ground."

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Sylvester Stallone vs. Irwin Winkler: Controversy over Rocky franchise explained

Sylvester "Sly" Stallone wrote the iconic pop-culture characters Rocky Balboa and Apollo Creed for his 1976 film, Rocky, which he also directed. He was nominated for two Oscars the following year for his writing and portrayal of the titular character.

Later, Sylvester Stallone also wrote the character Ivan Drago for 1985's Rocky IV, which he also directed. The actor and director further had co-writing credits for both Creed films, where he reprised his role as Rocky Balboa. Furthermore, Stallone received an Oscar nomination for his supporting role in 2015's Creed.

However, the controversy began in 2019 when Stallone told Variety that he had no rights over the Rocky franchise, which he wrote and created. Earlier this year, in a now-deleted Instagram post, he called out Irwin and wrote:

"I really would like (to) have at least a little (of) WHAT's LEFT of my RIGHTS back."

The post also had a morphed picture of Irwin's head on a serpent's body.

At the time, this drew serious speculation as to whether Stallone would return for the third installment of the Creed series, which would see star Michael B. Jordan's directorial debut. Rumors about Stallone's departure from the series were later confirmed. Last month, Stallone opened up on his decision in an interview with Metro UK, where he said:

"Well it's different because actually I bowed out of that one, I just didn't know if there was any part for me. It takes it in a different direction. I wish them well and keep punching!"

However, according to a 2019 report by Variety, Irwin Winkler and other executives associated with the franchise retaliated against Stallone's statements and claimed that the veteran actor received a lot of income from the profits of the Rocky franchise. As of now, it remains to be seen whether either party will pursue this controversy by legal means.