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Published Jan 27, 2026, 10:38 PM EST
Matthew Rudoy is one of ScreenRant's Movie & TV News Editors. He covers the latest in movie & TV news, with a focus on major franchises like Star Wars, The Boys, and Game of Thrones. He wrote lists for ScreenRant from 2017-2022, became a news writer in 2023, a senior staff writer in 2024, and an editor in 2025.
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The next movie in the long-running Rocky franchise has punched its way to a perfect release date.
I Play Rocky is a biopic that tells the true story of Sylvester Stallone's experience making the classic sports movie. Much like the fictional plot, which is an underdog story, he had to overcome many challenges and doubts to make the movie become a reality. Anthony Ippolito portrays the young Stallone, who not only played Rocky Balboa, but also wrote the screenplay. Green Book director Peter Farrelly helms the upcoming movie with a script from Peter Gamble.
Amazon MGM Studios has now announced that I Play Rocky will have a limited theatrical debut on November 13, 2026, followed by a nationwide release on November 20. The original Rocky movie came out on November 21, 1976, making this a momentous way to celebrate the 50th anniversary of when the franchise first started.
I Play Rocky's release window was previously teased in a now deleted Instagram post from Scot Teller, who plays Burt Young in the biopic. Teller shared a video captioned "See you on The Big Screen November 2026 [...] Keep your circle small with legendary people." Beyond the November release window, it is now confirmed that the new movie will be releasing on almost exactly the same day as the film that kicked off the popular culture phenomenon.
As for the individual Teller is playing, Young was the actor behind Paulie Pennino in the Rocky movies. The cast also includes Stephan James as Carl Weathers, Matt Dillon as Stallone's father Frank Stallone, Jr., AnnaSophia Robb as Stallone's girlfriend Sasha Czack, Kiki Seto as co-star Talia Shire, P.J. Byrne as producer Irwin Winkler, Toby Kebbell as producer Robert Chartoff, and Jay Duplass as Rocky's director, John G. Avildsen. A first look image at Ippolito as Stallone running on the beach with the character's dog, Butkus, was released in October 2025.
I Play Rocky is not the franchise's only spinoff from the titular character. There have been three movies starring Michael B. Jordan as Adonis "Donnie" Creed, the son of Apollo Creed (Weathers.) Stallone appeared in the first two installments but not in the third one. In terms of whether Creed 4 will happen, Jordan shared that he wants it to happen "eventually" but needs to ensure that there is a story worthy of another sequel.
Runtime 0 Minutes
Director Peter Farrelly
Writers Peter Gamble
English (US) ·