Actor outlines premise that ‘could work’ for franchise but says his all-American heroes were never intended as political symbols

Sylvester Stallone has said he wants to make a new Rocky film in which the boxer encounters an immigrant living illegally in the US.

Speaking during a Q&A at the Cannes film festival, the actor said he had no plans to appear in another film in the Creed spin-off series but “had a great idea” for a new Rocky movie. He suggested the film would likely not be made, but “it could work”.

“I have a great idea for Rocky. He finds this fella who’s in the country illegally and it becomes a whole thing. It would be really phenomenal, really different.

“It’s like a magician,” he continued. “Once you’ve seen how he does the tricks you’re not impressed any more. It’s the same thing with Rocky. You’ve seen everything, so you’re like, ‘How can it be different?’ That would be different. When you take him and throw him out of the country and he’s in another world. It could work. But I ain’t gonna do it,” he said.

The actor did not clarify whether Rocky would train the immigrant as a boxer or whether the film would take a different direction.

Migration has become an increasingly politically charged issue under the Trump administration, but Balboa’s all-American qualities have long been seen as consistent with the rightwing politics of the Reaganite 80s.

However, Stallone – a longstanding Republican – said that Rocky was never intended to be political. “I never took it personally, people saying Rocky was really rightwing,” he said. “Rocky is a simple man who grew up in that kind of mentality. That’s just the way it was back then. Everyone was super patriotic growing up. And that’s just the way he is. He’s not a political animal. So when he wraps the flag around him, he thinks he’s doing a good thing.

“Whenever boxers lift up the flag of their nation, it’s just automatic. They’re not saying, ‘We’re better than you.’ It’s what they were trained to do. So I never took it as a confrontational thing.”

Stallone also said his another of his major portrayals, the action hero John Rambo, was never intended as a political statement. “Once President Reagan went ‘I saw Rambo and he’s a Republican.’ I went, ‘So I guess he’s a Republican then,’” said Stallone, putting his head in his hands.

The actor said First Blood, the original Rambo film in which the Vietnam veteran takes on corrupt law enforcement in a small town, was made to represent those who had returned from the war with PTSD and suicidal thoughts.

To that end Stallone said that he successfully lobbied for the ending of the film, which was adapted from David Morrell’s 1972 novel, to be changed so Rambo wasn’t killed.

“I said, ‘That’s not the message. If I’m going to make this movie I have to be responsible for thousands and thousands of men who were ready to kill themselves,’” he said.

Stallone was at Cannes to attend a a 4K restoration screening of First Blood and promote his forthcoming Rambo sequel Last Blood. The latter film sees the ageing hero head to Mexico to rescue his adopted daughter from a drugs cartel.

“He goes out there and bad things happen,” Stallone said. “There’s going to be some serious vengeance in this movie. A lot of people are going to get killed.”

The veteran action star told the audience that he never believed he would become a successful actor due to physical limitations caused during his birth. “I had some physical flaws. It’s been hard for me to speak ever since I was born. When I tried to get jobs in commercials, directors would say, ‘What are you saying?’”.

Stallone also reflected on his past rivalry and current friendship with bodybuilder-turned-actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, crediting their “competitive energy” with helping both their careers.

“He stole everything he’s got from me,” the actor joked. “We hated each other’s guts, no question about it. But that’s a good thing. Everyone needs a great competitive enemy. There’s nothing better. And if I didn’t have one, I’d create one.”

“Now we’re really great friends, because I’m better than him!” Stallone added.