Like its loveable mush-mouthed protagonist, the long-running Rocky franchise simply will not give up. We’ve seen it revived in 2006’s Rocky Balboa, and then receive a real shot in the arm with the Creed movies. Despite the shift in focus to Michael B. Jordan’s Adonis Creed though, Stallone’s Rocky has continued to play a big role out of the ring, ending up passing on his boxing skills to the next generation.
Now, according to the actor himself, the process is set to repeat again in what sounds like Rocky VII. Fortunately though, it doesn’t seem as if Rocky is returning to the ring. Instead, the script will see the Italian Stallion take in an undocumented immigrant, hiding him from ICE as he trains him to become a boxer.
Stallone laid out the concept in an interview with Variety, saying:
“Rocky meets a young, angry person who got stuck in this country when he comes to see his sister. He takes him into his life, and unbelievable adventures begin, and they wind up south of the border. It’s very, very timely. … Do you tell someone that you just met in the street who’s struggling and homeless to get out, or do you take him in? If you take him in, you’re in trouble.”
With Creed 3 in development, it’s sounding as if this would be produced alongside it as an extension of the ‘Rockyverse.’ The Rocky movies have always centered around the boxer’s basic humanity, so it stands to reason that he’d look after a kid in need, even if he faced legal consequences for doing so.
With the current political situation being what it is, a plot line like this is destined to be read as a commentary on the US’s current demonization of immigrants and the concentration camps they’re being detained in. This is sure to be a hot potato of a movie, and knowing Stallone’s work ethic, I’m sure he’ll want to get a new Rocky into production as soon as possible while the issue is burning hot.