‘Tulsa King’: Sylvester Stallone, Garrett Hedlund, & Bella Heathcote On Season 3’s Wilder Grind, ‘Nola King,’ ‘Tron’ & More [Bingeworthy Podcast]

The streets of Tulsa have never looked meaner. With Season 3 of “Tulsa King” now streaming on Paramount+, Sylvester Stallone’s Dwight Manfredi faces more than just turf wars. He’s surrounded by chaos on all sides, from the FBI and old New York enemies to a new local threat who feels pulled from another century. The scale is bigger, the danger sharper, and the humor darker than ever before.

“It’s one of the darker ones,” Stallone said. “But, you know, the humor comes through. It gets heavy.” He admitted that the new season’s grind reflects a changing creative rhythm. “It’s very, very big because you have three forces coming at me. You got the FBI, you got the New York mob, and then you have this maniac from Tulsa who looks like he’s from a hundred years in the past. And then all the other intrigue about the elections and so on. And then we deal, oh, I forgot, the domestic terrorists. So we have a lot going on this year.”

That escalation wasn’t lost on the rest of the cast. “Season one and two, you’re so busy,” Garrett Hedlund said. “There are so many characters in this show, and you’re trying to make all their backstories compelling. Now it’s growing and growing in beautiful ways.” Bella Heathcote agreed, praising how the series has opened up new sides of its characters. “I want to be in the gang. I want a weapon. I want to get up to even more mischief,” she laughed. Their back-and-forth—playful, unpredictable, and flirtatious—embodies the very “sexy, fun chaos” Hedlund says defines Mitch and Clea’s dynamic this season.

READ MORE: ‘Task’: Brad Ingelsby, Tom Pelphrey, Sylvia Dionicio, & Emilia Jones Discuss Their Gritty Crime Series, Potential ‘Mare of Eastown’ Crossovers, & Much More [Bingeworthy Podcast]

For Stallone, part of the appeal of “Tulsa King” has always been that it allows him to evolve. After decades of shirtless action icons, Dwight forces him to do something different. “Even though people have considered me an action guy, that was a challenge, and I inadvertently fell into it with ‘First Blood,’ and I’m proud of it,” Stallone said. “But you get to a point where you can’t keep taking your shirt off, you can’t keep jumping out of trees and killing boars with a spear. And this comes along at a time when you keep your clothes on and you have to face act. In other words, you have to bring it up and not rely upon tricks or body positions or baby oil.”

He also confirmed that the expanding Tulsa King universe will tie directly into the upcoming spinoff “Nola King,” starring Samuel L. Jackson. “We’re going to be cross-cameoing this season,” Stallone revealed. “He sets a tone, and you realize Dwight was that kind of guy at one time. I’ve lost my really killer instinct, but he hasn’t. It makes for an interesting dynamic.”

Still, the legacy of Stallone’s franchise films lingers, and this year, Stallone found himself unexpectedly connected to it again when news broke that Peter Farrelly is making the film, “I Play Rocky,” about the making of “Rocky” – somehow, without Stallone’s input. “I was shocked to read it myself,” he said. “I had zero to do with it. But I’m kind of interested to participate in the sense that I’m writing a book, and it’s called ‘The Steps.’ It’s about me landing in New York in 1969 in August and that journey to the Oscar, which was like Achilles, going through all these different voyages of the damned to finally get there. I thought I might be able to participate and give them some insight since I lived it. But by no means is it my project.”

That reflection led naturally to the next icon in his catalog, “Rambo,” and the planned prequel that he also won’t be involved in. “I put a curse on that,” Stallone said. “No, I haven’t talked to [Noah Centineo], but I wish him well. I wanted to do it myself about two years ago as a full-on AI movie, the first one. And everyone thought I was crazy. I go, ‘It’s going to happen, guys. Why not be the first one off the launching pad?’ AI is sophisticated enough to go through Saigon, to see him at 18 years old, and basically use the same image. It’s just very difficult for this actor. You’re overcoming this because I went through it with ‘Get Carter.’ Everyone loves the original, and you’re always fighting that prejudice.”

Meanwhile, Garrett Hedlund is sadly not re-entering his own franchise world as “Tron: Ares” opens in theaters this weekend, a project whose roots trace back to a canceled “Tron: Legacy” sequel Hedlund almost led. “We were going to shoot ‘Tron: Ascension‘ in like 2013,” Hedlund recalled. “We were in pre-production and then Disney made an acquisition that sort of had them reconsidering, so they just kind of shelved it. The script was really wonderful… and I was just really jazzed to see the work that they put into getting ‘Tron: Ares’ to come to fruition because it was no easy battle for them. COVID knocked them back a few pegs. The strike knocked them back a few pegs, and they still trudged forth. It’s going to be wonderful to see what they do. Tron has always been such a fan-based world come true. Legacy wouldn’t have happened if the fans hadn’t essentially given their approval by their reaction alone, as evidenced by the response to Joe Kosinski’s teaser footage at Comic-Con that year. Fans don’t know how much power they have just based on reaction alone.”

And while Hedlund’s franchise found new life, Bella Heathcote is still waiting for hers to resurface, the bizarre and long-rumored remake “The Room Returns,” starring Bob Odenkirk. Filmed in just one day, it’s a shot-for-shot remake of Tommy Wiseau‘s infamous “The Room.” “I am desperate to see it,” she laughed. “Surely. I mean, what an incredible concept. And, like, Bob Odenkirk playing it all straight, trying to make everything land emotionally. It was a master class. We shot it in a day. I’ve never seen anything like it. Honestly, a career highlight. I’m desperate to see that.”

Support independent movie journalism to keep it alive. Sign up for The Playlist Newsletter. All the content you want and, oh, right, it’s free.

You can listen to the full Sylvester Stallone, Garrett Hedlund, and Bella Heathcote interviews below:

Bingeworthy is part of The Playlist Podcast Network, which includes Deep Focus, The Discourse, and more. We can be heard on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Soundcloud, and most places where podcasts are found. You can stream the podcast via the embed within the article.. Be sure to subscribe and drop us a comment or a rating, as we greatly appreciate it. Thank you for listening.

The Playlist Presents: Tulsa King Cast’s TV & Film Recommendation Playlist:
• Garrett Hedlund – “Copland” (1997)
• Sylvester Stallone – “Bloodline” (2010), “Landman” (2024)
• Bella Heathcote – “Rocky” (1976)

Mike DeAngelo

+ postsBio ⮌

Mike DeAngelo is a film writer, podcaster, and entertainment journalist whose work has appeared in Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, IndieWire, and beyond. He is the host of The Playlist's podcasts The Discourse and Bingeworthy.

This author does not have any more posts