Dolph Lundgren has shared new story details about the Rocky franchise spin-off Drago, saying the movie is still in development but has suffered delays due to the success of Creed 3.
The Drago spin-off featuring Lundgren and his character's son has not faced a total knockout but is apparently on hold while the studio focuses on Creed 4. Lundgren told Screen Rant in a recent interview that the Drago movie was making steady progress and had an "interesting" script before it dropped down the priority ladder.
"MGM was developing the script called Drago about my character and my son," Lundgren said. "I think what happened was the studio changed leadership, and then Creed 3 did very well, so they started preparing for Creed 4. This is last year, and then now there is a problem with a co-star in Creed 4. That storyline they had on the Drago script was interesting, it was kind of a coming to America, kind of immigration angle, with me and the son, and it was pretty cool.
"It just so happened that, in Creed 2, we're in the Ukraine, in the beginning, we're in Kyiv," he added. "That's where the movie opens, even though it's not really mentioned too much. But in the version of the script that I read, it starts with a Russian invasion, and in that, we go through some hard, difficult experiences that makes us want to come to America. It was kind of interesting."
Talks of a Drago spin-off arose not long after Lundgren reprised his Rocky role in the 2018 film Creed 2, which sees him train his son Victor (Florian Munteanu) to take on Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan). An announcement in July 2022 revealed that the Drago film was in the works, with Robert Lawton writing the script.
Rocky producer and star Sylvester Stallone, however, spoke out against the Creed spin-off in a damning rant on Instagram, which he shared in August 2022 but later deleted. The post dubbed the producers "parasites" for "exploiting" the franchise he created, and it called out Lundgren for not being vocal about their plans.
Stallone has pulled no punches when expressing his displeasure over the state of the Rocky franchise. He previously condemned producer Irwin Winkler for withholding ownership of the franchise and its sequel series Creed, saying it's a subject that eats at his "soul" because he "wanted to leave something of Rocky" for his children.
Whether Lundgren returns to play Ivan Drago again remains to be seen, but Creed IV is on the way. Michael B. Jordan, who made his directorial debut with Creed 3, confirmed to IGN in February 2023 that Creed 4 is "for sure" happening alongside more spin-offs to expand the Creed-verse. He is also directing the fourth film.
Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on X @AdeleAnkers.
