Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky Biopic Seemingly Gets The Most Perfect 2026 Release Window

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The new film I Play Rocky is scheduled to come out around the time we celebrate the impact of the original Rocky movie. Directed by Peter Farrelly and written by Peter Gamble, the film stars Anthony Ippolito as Sylvester Stallone, and tells the story of how the classic underdog sports film Rocky was made, including Stallone’s work as both the writer and star.

The movie I Play Rocky stars Tracy Letts, Matt Dillon, AnnaSophia Robb, and Jay Duplass. Scot Teller will portray actor Burt Young in the film. Teller recently posted a video on Instagram from the set, with a caption reading, “See you on The Big Screen November 2026 […] Keep your circle small with legendary people.” You can watch the video below.

The first Rocky movie came out in November 1976, so the new film I Play Rocky is timed perfectly to mark the original’s 40th anniversary, if the release date holds. Since then, there have been multiple Rocky sequels released between 1979 and 2006, and more recently, the Creed series from 2015 to 2023, with a fourth Creed movie currently in the works.

As a huge movie fan, I’m already looking forward to late 2026! It’s shaping up to be a busy month at the cinema. The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping is coming out on November 20th, and Greta Gerwig’s The Chronicles of Narnia in IMAX just a few days later on the 26th. Those will be the biggest releases competing with my film, I Play Rocky, that month, I think. Plus, being so late in the year, we’ll likely see a bunch of potential Oscar movies being released around then too.

Currently, the films expected to be major Oscar contenders are being released later in the year, which means the I Play Rocky biopic won’t face immediate competition from titles like Digger (October 2nd) and The Social Reckoning (October 9th). However, the release timing won’t matter much if the film itself doesn’t receive positive reviews or live up to the quality of the best Rocky and Creed installments.

Peter Farrelly, the director, writer, and producer of the Academy Award-winning film Green Book, is a well-established filmmaker. His frequent collaborator, Peter Gambel, is a newer writer with credits on films like Trenches and Office Uprising. Separately, Sylvester Stallone has no connection to the film I Play Rocky and expressed surprise that it was made without his knowledge.

I’m really excited about I Play Rocky! It’s hard to say if it will be a critical success, or if people will ultimately think it missed the mark. But the people involved clearly have high hopes – the release timing suggests they believe it will stand alongside the original Rocky movies as something truly special. I’m keeping my fingers crossed!

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2026-01-02 20:40