Never count theRockyandCreedfranchise out, as the film series has secured yet another spinoff. This time it’sDrago, which will follow Dolph Lundgren’s merciless Ivan Drago and his son Viktor.
The existence of a movie about Ivan Drago was first revealed in an interview last year with Lundgren, who playedthe Russian boxer inRocky IV(1985). As fans likely recall, Ivan Drago first appeared inRocky IVas the primary antagonist who was responsible for the death of Apollo Creed.
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Now, The Wrap has rung the bell with some new details about the upcomingMGMfilm.Dragowill focus on the Russian boxer Ivan Drago and his son Viktor Drago, the antagonist of themore recentCreed 2(2018). Very few details are known about the movie, but it will be written by Robert Lawton. Lawton recently received attention for his scriptBecoming Rocky, about the making of the originalRockyfilm, which won a Nicholl Fellowship in 2021 and was picked up by MGM for production. His previous credits include the scripts forSex & Sushi(2006), a romantic comedy about a private detective, andCrave(2012), a vigilante thriller about a crime scene photographer with a twisted sense of justice.
Dragowill mark the 10thfilm in theRockyfranchiseand the start of its second spinoff series. The long-running franchise reinvented itself back in 2015 with the critically acclaimedCreed, which followed Donnie, the illegitimate son ofRockyandRocky IIantagonist Apollo Creed. In the film, Donnie seeks out Rocky Balboa to teach him how to box and learn more about his father, who was killed by Ivan Drago inRocky IV. The successful series has continued withCreed IIand most recentlyCreed III, which is set to release this year.
Although almost nothing is known aboutDrago, it sounds like it will fall into familiar territory for the franchise. Because it stars both Ivan and Viktor, fans can assume that it will be anoather story of a troubled father-son relationship, well-trodden ground for theRockyfilms. Ivan Drago is also one of the most memorable villains of the series, who represents pure aggression and ruthlessness, so the new film will probably grapple with issues of unchecked masculinity, another commonRocky theme.
However,Dragois not the only project in the works for Stallone’s unkillable boxing franchise. As of May 2020, Stallone was reportedly working on a script forone last mainlineRockyfilm, which will see Rocky Balboa mentor and train a young undocumented immigrant who hasn’t come to terms with his anger and bitterness. Although the film has not been greenlit from the last audiences heard, it shouldn’t be too hard for an industry star like Stallone to find someone to take the project on.
