Who else besides Anthony Ippolito will star in “I Play Rocky,” Peter Farrelly‘s upcoming pic about the making of “Rocky“? Deadline reports that Farrelly and Amazon MGM Studios has found its Carl Weathers to star opposite Ippolito’s Sylvester Stallone. So who landed the part?
“If Beale Street Could Talk” actor Stephan James will play Weathers, who starred the heavyweight champion Apollo Creed in the 1977 film. Weathers reprised the role three times in the franchise, with Creed evolving from Rocky’s antagonist to close friend until the character’s demise in “Rocky IV.” Creed was a breakout role for Weathers, a professional football player looking to break into acting when MGM picked up Stallone’s “Rocky” script. The film ended up a breakout for Weathers as much as it did for Stallone, with the actor going on to make films like “Predator” and “Action Jackson” after Ivan Drago killed off Creed in the 1985 sequel.
But “I Play Rocky” is primarily about Stallone and his underdog script, not Weathers. The upcoming film tells the story of how Stallone, an unknown actor at the time, bet on himself and somehow, against all odds, convinced United Artists to make “Rocky” and let him star in it. “Rocky” became an instant classic for UA and MGM, winning Best Picture at the Oscars, and catapulted Stallone to Hollywood superstardom. And, of course, “Rocky” became the most lucrative sports movie franchise of all time, earning $1.7 billion across the original films and the current “Creed” spinoffs.
Based on the franchise’s success, Amazon MGM has sky-high expectations for “I Play Rocky.” Expect the studio to market it as an awards season frontrunner next year. Toby Emmerich and Christian Baha produce the pic for the studio, with FilmNation Entertainment handling its international sales and production services.
As for James, the role of Weather/Reed in “I Play Rocky” is his most high-profile one in a while. The actor was poised to break out after Barry Jenkins‘ “If Beale Street Could Talk” in 2017, but since then, he’s most stuck to smaller, mid-budget affairs like “21 Bridges” and “Babes.” He’s also been in a spate of Netflix releases the past few years, including Malcolm Washington‘s “The Piano Lesson,” Benjamin Caron‘s “Night Always Comes,” and the upcoming “War Machine.” Other recent work for Jmas includes Rashad Frett‘s “Ricky,” which had a buzzy premiere at Sundance earlier this year.
Stay tuned for more details and casting news for “I Play Rocky” soon, and, as noted earlier, expect Amazon MGM to plug this one as an awards season favorite.
