Sylvester Stallone has taken aim at Irwin Winkler and Dolph Lundgren (Picture: Getty)
Sylvester Stallone has furiously hit out at Rocky producer Irwin Winkler and actor and director Dolph Lundgren, after spin-off film Drago was teased.
Stallone, who wrote Rocky and starred as the boxer, has been fighting for his rights to the character and previously said he has ‘zero ownership’ of it. Winkler produced the film, and Lundgren starred in Rocky IV as imposing boxer Ivan Drago.
Now, with the teasing of spin-off film Drago, based on Lundgren’s character, Stallone has claimed that the characters are being ‘exploited’.
Sharing a screenshot of a story on the spin-off, Stallone wrote on Instagram: ‘Another Heartbreaker… Just found this out…ONCE AGAIN , IRWIN WINKLER , this PATHETIC 94 year old PRODUCER and HIS MORONIC VULTURE CHILDREN, Charles And David , are once again picking clean THE BONES of another wonderful character I created without even telling me.
‘I APOLOGIZE to the FANS , I never wanted ROCKY characters to be exploited by these parasites… By the way, I once had nothing but respect for Dolph but he NEVER told me about what was going on behind my back with the character I created for him !!! REAL FRIENDS Are more precious than gold.’
He went on to write: ‘After IRWIN WINKLER And FAMILY SUCK ROCKY DRY ! Presumed to be the most hated , untalented , decrepited , Producer in Hollywood and his cowardly children have found their next meal… Drago ?
‘Throughout history so many artists in every industry ,recording , painting writing , you name it have been destroyed by these blood suckers Who have destroyed so many families , lining their pockets with other people work.. #parasite producers #exploited artists victims [sic].’
Stallone first starred as Rocky in 1976 (Picture: United Artists/Getty Images)
Dolph Lundgren starred as Drago (Picture: United Artists/Getty Images)
Soon afterwards, Lundgren took to Instagram to share photos of himself and Stallone playfully throwing punches.
‘Just to set the record straight regarding a possible Drago spinoff,’ he wrote.
‘There’s no approved script, no deals in place, no director and I was personally under the impression that my friend Sly Stallone was involved as a producer or even as an actor. There was a press leak last week which was unfortunate. In touch with Mr Balboa – just so all the fans can relax…There ya go. 👊.’
Winkler does not appear to have responded.
Stalloone wants the rights handed over (Picture: Andreas Rentz/Getty Images)
Winkler produced the film (Picture: Jonathan Leibson/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures)
It’s not the first time Stallone’s taken aim at Winkler (who’s actually 91), previously hitting out at the producer and claiming he is entitled to rights over the character.
‘After Irwin controlling ‘Rocky’ for over 47 years, and now ‘Creed’, I really would like to have at least a little [of] WHAT’S LEFT of my rights back, before passing it on to ONLY YOUR CHILDREN,’ he said.
In 2019, when Stallone told Variety he had ‘zero ownership’ of Rocky, Winkler and others affiliated with the franchise reportedy reacted ‘with surprise’ to learn that Stallone was unhappy with his stake, after he received ‘tens of millions of dollars in profit participation in addition to his upfront fees on each installment.’
The first Rocky film was released in 1976, with the franchise spawning five sequels, and the spin-off film franchise Creed.
It’s unclear as to whether Lundgren is planning to reprise his role in the spin-off.
Metro.co.uk has contacted reps for Irwin Winkler and Dolph Lundgren for comment.
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