Anthony Ippolito set to play Sylvester Stallone in the real-life inspired film I Play Rocky

The 1976 sports drama that made Sylvester Stallone a star is receiving a biopic treatment. Titled I Play Rocky, the forthcoming film aims to capture Stallone's resilient spirit as he wrote and starred in this sports drama, still considered one of the definitive underdog tales to have come out of the Hollywood storytelling discipline.

Anthony Ippolito is all set to star as Stallone in I Play Rocky, which will offer a behind-the-scenes look into the making of this Hollywood classic, being developed by Amazon MGM, as per The Hollywood Reporter. Peter Farrelly (Green Book) is directing this feature film with a screenplay by Peter Gamble (Office Uprising). Toby Emmerich will produce I Play Rocky with Christian Baha.

THR offers further details on the 1976 movie, which will be explored in I Play Rocky. The publication calls it,

"The true Hollywood story about an unknown actor with an unshakable belief that he wasn’t just meant to write Rocky—he was meant to be Rocky Balboa. Told “no” at every turn, Stallone bets everything on himself, holding the line on playing the lead against seemingly impossible odds. The result is the ultimate underdog story behind the ultimate underdog movie."

Tracing the legacy of the Rocky franchise

In 1976, Sylvester Stallone introduced Rocky Balboa, the iconic character that defined his latter stardom. He also wrote the screenplay for this indie film, hoping to star as the lead. His rags-to-riches story resonated so well with the audience that the film ended up becoming a commercial success.

It also earned an Oscar for Best Picture, beating classics like Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver, Sidney Lumet's Network, and Alan J. Pakula's All the President's Men. Since then, it has been hailed as one of the most iconic sports dramas of all time.

After its success, Stallone wrote, directed, and starred in three follow-up sequels before handing over the directorial duties to John G. Avildsen for the 1990 film. Eventually, he returned as the creative triple threat with the 2006 film, Rocky Balboa.

Eventually, in 2015, Ryan Coogler took charge of a spin-off project, which he co-wrote and directed. It starred Stallone in a supporting role, while Michael B. Jordan played the central role.

Jordan returned as a star for Creed II, which was directed by Steven Caple Jr. Later, Jordan made his directorial debut in Creed III, where he reprised his role. It was the first film where Stallone didn't reprise his role.

More details about the I Play Rocky cast

Anthony Ippolito as Al Pacino in The Offer (Image via YouTube/Paramount Plus)

Anthony Ippolito, who will soon play Sylvester Stallone in I Play Rocky, has already starred as another legendary actor, Al Pacino, in the Paramount+ series, The Offer. The series followed the making of Francis Ford Copolla's classic The Godfather, when Pacino was in his early thirties.

After starring as the Oscar-winning star, the 26-year-old actor will play Stallone, who was reportedly 29-30 years old at the time of the film's shoot. The I Play Rocky star's other credits include the Netflix series Grand Army and films like Purple Hearts (2022) and The English Teacher (2013).