I Play Rocky
I Play Rocky is an upcoming American biographical drama film directed by Peter Farrelly from a screenplay written by Peter Gamble. Anthony Ippolito stars as Sylvester Stallone, alongside Stephan James, AnnaSophia Robb, Matt Dillon, P.J Byrne, Toby Kebbell, Tracy Letts, Jay Duplass, Kiki Seto, and Robert Morgan. The film is set to have a limited theatrical release on November 13, 2026, followed by a worldwide release on November 20, 2026.
Premise
Depicts the tumultuous production of the 1976 film Rocky.Cast
- Anthony Ippolito as Sylvester Stallone
- Stephan James as Carl Weathers, Sylvester's co-star
- AnnaSophia Robb as Sasha Czack, Sylvester's girlfriend
- Matt Dillon as Frank Stallone Sr., Sylvester's father
- P. J. Byrne as Irwin Winkler, a producer of Rocky
- Toby Kebbell as Robert Chartoff, a producer of Rocky
- Tracy Letts as Sandy Maddox
- Jay Duplass as John G. Avildsen, the director of Rocky
- Kiki Seto as Talia Shire, Sylvester's co-star
- Robert Morgan as Burgess Meredith, Sylvester's co-star
- Saul Stein as Sal
- Trevor St. John as Grant Bader
- Erik Palladino as Pete, Stallone’s boxing coach
- Rob Demery as Joe Frazier
- Scot Teller as Burt Young, Sylvester's co-star
Production
In May 2024, a biographical drama film depicting the making-of the tumultuous production of the 1976 film Rocky, with Peter Farrelly directing was announced and Peter Gamble writing the script. CAA Media Finance would handle U.S sales with FilmNation Entertainment handling international at the Cannes Market 2024. In August 2025, Anthony Ippolito was cast as a young Sylvester Stallone. In October, Stephan James was cast as Carl Weathers, while AnnaSophia Robb and Matt Dillon were cast as Stallone's first wife Sasha Czack and Sylvester's father Frank Stallone Sr.. P. J. Byrne, Toby Kebbell, Tracy Letts, Jay Duplass, Kiki Seto, Robert Morgan, Saul Stein, Trevor St. John, Erik Palladino, and Rob Demery would round out the cast later in the month.Stallone later confirmed that he was not contacted by anyone regarding the film and that he only learned about its existence after reading about it, although he was still open to participating in the film's production as a consultant since he currently had no involvement with it.