Sylvester Stallone has a long and rocky history with the Rocky franchise. Stallone wrote Rocky (1976), Rocky II (1979), Rocky III (1982), Rocky IV (1985), Rocky V (1990), and Rocky Balboa (2006), and co-wrote the Rocky spinoff Creed II (2018). 

Despite his heavy involvement in a franchise he started, Stallone does not own the rights to the films, and he has aired his grievances over this repeatedly in the past. Stallone decided to drop out of Creed III (2023) because he did not like the franchise’s direction. In 

On July 16, Stallone created an Instagram post where he candidly expressed his feelings criticizing Rocky producer Irwin Winkler over the rights of the franchise.

In another (now-deleted) Instagram post, Stallone talked about a Rocky film that never was, Rocky 7, where he again expressed his not so love for Winkler. A series of images were posted, one of the artworks of Stallone’s character. There were also notebooks filled with notes and slug lines for scenes.

“This was the beginning EXCERPTS of screenplay for ROCKY 7,” Stallone wrote on the post, “sadly because certain individuals, it will never happen, but it’s something I want to share with the diehard fans. Always Keep punching. Painting by @john_rivoli. #Irwinsfault.”

In a second post, Stallone wrote, “Part two, I know it’s confusing, but I think you get the idea. Rocky was back trying to fight for the neighborhood that made him and that he still loves.”

Despite the deleted post (s), the images have been posted on Collider.

Creed III releases to theaters in the US on March 3, 2023.