The word “soulful” might not be the first description that comes to mind when thinking of Rocky IV, the boxing film in which Rocky Balboa battled Soviet powerhouse Ivan Drago in the ring to avenge the death, earlier in the film, of Apollo Creed. One could argue that the greatest legacy of Rocky IV to date was the groundwork it laid for Creed and its sequel.
If you like boxing, Cold War politics and a whole lot of montages, this might be your lucky day. Rocky IV star and director Sylvester Stallone announced on Instagram that he’s working on a director’s cut of the film. “So far it looks great,” wrote Stallone. “Soulful.”
As Scott Mendelson writes for Forbes, Rocky IV represents one of Stallone’s biggest films as a leading man, and serves as an interesting companion piece to Rambo: First Blood Part II, in terms of late-Cold War blockbuster films.
But there may be one set of film buffs who won’t delight in the news of a recut Rocky IV: fans of the robot subplot. Viewers of Rocky IV may recall that one sign of Rocky Balboa’s fame and fortune from boxing was a high-end robot that showed up in a few scenes. Based on some comments Stallone made in the comments on Instagram, however, the robot might not make an appearance in this new cut.
Looking at Stallone’s replies to comments on social media, one gets the sense that Stallone was, perhaps, not terribly fond of the robot in the first place. It’s a strange footnote to an unexpected piece of cinematic news. Will the robot make it to the director’s cut? I suppose we’ll need to tune in and find out.
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