Rocky Balboa and Ivan Drago had a bit of a rematch in a deleted scene fromCreed II, and Sylvester Stallone was pretty unhappy to see it hit the cutting room floor. Fans of the franchise will remember when Dolph Lundgren portrayed the brutal Russian boxer fighting the Italian Stallion inRocky IV. The two characters duked it out briefly once again in the axedCreed IIscene, and Lundgren recently brought it up again at FanX Salt Lake Comic Convention. Here’s what the actor had to say about the cut Rocky and Ivan fight.
“For some reason, they took it out. I haven’t seen it cut together - I think it’s on the DVD or something. ButStallonewas really upset, he wanted it in there. But I guess it broke the flow of the picture somehow, so there you go. Maybe next time.”
The scene in question takes place after the first fight between Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan) and Ivan’s sonViktor Drago(Florian Munteanu). Creed is hospitalized after the match, leading to the Dragos arriving at the hospital with a film crew hoping to generate publicity. Rocky urges them to leave, leading to a scuffle between the retired boxer and Ivan in the hospital lobby. Unfortunately, the scene in full is not actually included on any home video release ofCreed II, but clips of Stallone and Lundgren rehearsing their mini-rematch can be seen in some of the behind-the-scenes footage from the movie.
Ivan Drago was a breakout role for Lundgren, who instantly became a star following the release ofRocky IV. In the movie, Drago first goes toe to toe with Rocky’s pal and former foe Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) with Rocky in Apollo’s corner. The fierce Drago ultimately pummels Creed so badly, he leaves the fan favorite boxer laying dead in the middle of the ring.Rockythen gets vengeance by defeating Drago in his home country. Interestingly enough, Lundgren also recently met up with Weathers as well in anotherRocky IVreunion, posting an image on Instagram of the two posing together.Rockyfans are now hoping Weathers will join Stallone and Lundgren in the nextExpendablesmovie.
Given the success of theCreedmovie, it’s inevitable we will seeCreed IIIon the big screen before long. However, production on the sequel has yet to begin. Reportedly, Michael B. Jordan was offered the chance to direct in addition to starring in the movie at one point, but the follow-up has yet to be officially greenlit. Meanwhile, Stallone has also suggested he has another idea for a separateRockymovie to continue the story of the Italian Stallion, but this has yet to come to fruition as well. In any case, it would appear that this franchise is still far from through with its run in theaters.
Perhaps aRocky Balboa vs. Ivan Dragorematch would have distracted from the feud between Adonis and Viktor inCreed II, but it certainly would be fun to watch. Let’s hope a full cut of the scene makes it way out there some day. Lundgren’s words were transcribed byComicBook.com.
