Making Of Rocky Biopic Set Image Reveals First Look At Young Sylvester Stallone

The making of the Rocky movie is now underway, and the first images have surfaced. Peter Farrelly helms the biographical movie of how Sylvester Stallone came to make the 1976 sports classic, in which the star also wrote the story. Anthony Ippolito will portray the three-time Oscar-nominated icondepicting the early years when Stallone was making Rocky.

On Instagram, Entertainment Tonight recently shared set images for I Play Rockyshowcasing Ippolito’s transformation as Stallone. The photos show the actor wearing a cream tank top and a gray jacket. One image shows the actor swinging his arms while holding a pen, while another shows him with a dog, portraying Stallone’s Butkus, who died in 1981 from a heart attack.

Check Out The I Play Rocky Set Photos Here

The upcoming biopic will be distributed by Amazon MGM Studio, but there is currently no set release date. Alongside Ippolito, the cast will also include Stephen James as a young Carl Weathers and AnnaSophia Robb as Sasha Czack, Stallone’s now ex-wife. Matt Dillon will play Stallone’s father.

I Play Rocky will focus on the complications in making the 1976 sports classic, which went on to be nominated for ten Academy Awards, and ended up winning three, including Best Picture. Stallone had written the movie’s script within three and a half daysbut it faced many production troubles, particularly concerns about casting an unknown as the lead.

Following the first movie, it expanded into a $1.9 billion franchise, which includes four sequels and three Creed spinoff movies. Stallone received multiple acting nominations for portraying his iconic role Rocky Balboa, including Best Actor in 1977 and Best Supporting Actor for Creed in 2016.

While speaking with The PlaylistStallone recently shared that he “was shocked to read“about the biopic and confirmed that he had”zero to do with it.” He admits that he wished he had been consulted for the filming, saying: “Since I lived it, I thought I might be able to participate and give them some insight.”

I Play Rocky has only begun filming, and there are currently no indications when the movie could be scheduled for release. Regardless, with the original classic following an underdog story, the upcoming biopic will equally depict how the creator himself faced similar challenges to bring his vision to light and combat those who were skeptical about his now twice Oscar-nominated casting.