Sylvester Stallone has a new memoir coming next year, and in the meantime he’s making the rounds ahead of the season premiere of “Tulsa King” and weighing in on some of his classic films.
A “John Rambo” origin story movie is already underway starring Noah Centineo. But although Stallone wasn’t involved in the plans for that one, he told The Playlist’s Bingeworthy podcast that he previously had his own idea for a “Rambo” prequel.
He had pitched it as an AI experiment that would de-age him back to a teenager, he told the podcast. “Everyone thought I was crazy,” he remembered. “AI is sophisticated enough to go through Saigon to see him at 18 years old and basically use the same image. So it isn’t as big a stretch.”
Playing John Rambo won’t be easy for any other actor, Stallone predicted, because he has become so identified with the role. “It’s very, very hard. He may do a stellar job, but you’re overcoming this because I went through it with ‘Get Carter.’ Everyone loves the original, and then you’re always fighting that prejudice.”
But “John Rambo” isn’t the only upcoming film based on an iconic Stallone title. Peter Farrelly is directing the “Rocky” making-of drama “I Play Rocky,” with Anthony Ippolito starring as the underdog boxer. But Stallone said he was caught off-guard when he first heard about it. “I was shocked to read [about] it,” he said. “I have zero to do with it.”
“Since I lived it, I thought I might be able to participate and give them some insight,” he said, though that seems unlikely, since the script is reportedly finished.
His memoir “The Steps” will arrive on May 5. According to the synopsis, “In a narrative framed between his arrival in New York City in 1969 and the triumph of Rocky at the 1977 Academy Awards, Stallone weaves a vivid and propulsive portrait of struggle, subsistence, and ultimately success. He writes of his early days and later years, too, and the persistence, creativity, and resilience that led not only to the creation of Rocky but to a career filled with remarkably iconic roles.”
Season 3 of “Tulsa King,” which has been renewed for season 4, premieres Sept. 21.
