I PLAY ROCKY Trailer Debuts with Anthony Ippolito as Sylvester Stallone

The first trailer for I PLAY ROCKY, a new drama about the making of the 1976 film ROCKY, arrived this week via TODAY, with Anthony Ippolito taking on the role of Sylvester Stallone. The clip offers an early look at how the film frames Stallone's rise from relative unknown to Hollywood star through the story of how the original ROCKY came to be made.

I PLAY ROCKY is a behind-the-scenes drama centered on the true story of Stallone's path to movie stardom, using the production of the 1976 Oscar-winning film as its narrative spine. The project is distinct from the ROCKY story itself, focusing instead on the man who wrote and starred in it and the circumstances that brought that film to the screen.

The film is scheduled to open in theaters in November. Stallone himself has remained a prominent cultural figure in recent years, receiving recognition as an actor and writer at the 2025 Kennedy Center Honors, where he was cited for his lifetime contributions to American culture alongside honorees including Tony Award winner Michael Crawford.

The ROCKY franchise has also continued to find new life on stage. BroadwayWorld previously covered a theatrical production of ROCKY in Buenos Aires, with Nico Vázquez starring as Rocky Balboa, underscoring the enduring reach of Stallone's original creation across multiple performance formats.