There is no strong-willed, determined, and better-told underdog story than Rocky Balboa from The Rocky franchise. The hard-hitting and sedulous southpaw and his films have been a core part of cinema history for decades, but there are still many facts and aspects of the movies that fans don't know.

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With the release of Creed III on the horizon, there is no better way to reflect on the franchise than to discover facts from behind the scenes that keep the interest of the movies still alive today.

10 The Movie's Near Overnight Creation

Sylvester Stallone as Rocky Balboa in Rocky II

As an unknown and struggling actor of the 70s in New York, writer and actor Sylvester Stallone found the inspiration to write Rocky after seeing a fight with the legendary Muhammad Ali earlier that year. With some prior screenwriting experience, Stallone went to work and crafted the script within just three days inside a battered Mead notebook.

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However, the original script had many major differences from the version of the story that fans are familiar with today, such as many characters' ethnicities and backgrounds and even major endings to the plot. Either way, fans are grateful the story was born to begin with.

9 Rocky Almost Wasn't Rocky

Rocky poses with red gloves from Rocky III

After pitching the script to various studios, producers Irwin Winkler and Robert Chartoff loved the script so much that they eventually offered Stallone $265,000 for the rights, but with one important condition: the title character of Rocky would be played by an A-list actor.

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With only $106 in his bank account, Stallone repeatedly declined to sell the rights if he could not play Rocky, which eventually the studio agreed to. It's hard to picture anyone else as the Italian Stallion, but thanks to Stallone's real-life eye of the tiger, fans will never have to.

8 Stallone Really Went The Distance

Sylvester Stallone - Rocky running throug the street

After the first Rocky film, fans saw the title character lose in a draw against the reigning champion Apollo Creed in their bout, only for the two fighters to begin training for a rematch in Rocky II. In the movie, one of Rocky's training methods, among drinking raw eggs (don't knock it till you try it!) and training intensely at Mick's gym, was his long runs throughout his hometown of Philadelphia.

One of these runs, in particular, became incredibly iconic not only to fans of the films but also to city inhabitants as the filming occurred. The iconic run was a whopping thirty miles, all done within one day of filming. The run also included hundreds of kid extras who joined Rocky in his run to the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

7 Michael B. Jordan's Creed K.O

Rocky Balboa helps train Adonis in Creed

Much like his boxing and co-star predecessor Stallone in his movies, Michael B. Jordan suffered an actual knock-out during the filming of 2015's Creed, a revival of the Rocky Franchise that featured the title character as a mentor to Apollo Creed's son, Adonis Creed.

The K.O, which Jordan actually wore as a badge of honor on set, was something of a rite-of-passage for Rocky boxers, as Stallone claimed to have sustained one in every boxing scene he was in.

6 Drago's Dolph Lundgren Hospitalized Stallone

Rocky versus Drago - Stallone and Lundgren fighting in Rocky IV

In films such as the Rocky movies, on-set injuries are a given. However, one of the injuries that took place during the filming of Rocky IV went beyond the severity of anything that had happened yet. In filming the first round of Rocky and Drago's iconic fight in Russia, Lundgren accidentally hit Stallone so hard in his chest cavity that the injury began to swell rapidly.

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Reportedly, if Stallone had not been treated, the injury would have caused his heart to swell, and the actor would have died. Real life or not, the Siberian Bull is not a force to be messed with.

5 The Bell Almost Rung For Rocky In Rocky V

Retired Rocky looks stunned from Rocky V

Though now fans could not imagine a world without the continuation of the franchise, originally, the plan was for Balboa to die at the end of the fifth installment in the series. The movie, which was planned to be the conclusion of the series, saw the character die at the hands of the indignant and rebellious protégé Tommy Gunn in their epic end-scene street fight.

Stallone reportedly broke down in tears trying to finish writing this ending but was stopped two weeks into filming by director John Avildsen who informed him that Rocky "could never die."

4 Adrian Also Almost Wasn't Adrian

Adrian stands shy listening to Rocky from Rocky I

Much like the studios' desire for Rocky to be played by another actor, the casting process for Rocky's love interest Adrian was a similarly difficult endeavor. Originally, the character was going to be embodied by Carrie Snodgrass, who backed out due to pay disagreements.

Though many other actresses, including Bette Midler, or Cher, it was Talia Shire who stepped in and agreed to portray the character, which is good because fans could not imagine anyone else playing the encouraging, loving, and loyal Adrian.

3 Fans Can Thank Rocky III For Eye Of The Tiger

The Rock band from Chicago pose in music video

After planning to use The Karate Kid's "You're the Best" by Joe Esposito (and asking Queen to no avail) for the intro montage of Rocky III, the negotiations reportedly fell through. However, Stallone then reached out to Chicago rock group Survivor through a voicemail in the hopes that they would be willing to collaborate on a number for the film.

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Collaborate, they did, as the band yielded the iconic hit "Eye of the Tiger" for the intro sequence that has now retired into one of the most timeless hits (and timeless montages) in both music and film history.

2 Goodbye Rocky

Rocky and Creed look out over the city on the museum steps

After Creed's massive world title victory at the end of Creed II, Rocky Balboa is symbolically shown bowing the spotlight out to Adonis as his back is shown to the audience, and he gazes up at his apprentice. It is a somber moment as Ludwig Goranssan's "It's Your Time" plays, and the scene pans out, and Rocky takes off his hat.

The purpose of this scene is reportedly curtains on Rocky for the fans, as told by Stallone. Despite the actor claiming his departure from the character many times in the past, it seems as though this time, Rocky Balboa really might be down for the count.

1 Jordan Enters The Directorial Ring For Creed III

Rocky training Adonis in the ring in Creed.

Michael B. Jordan will reportedly make his directorial debut in Creed III, releasing in March 2023. The film, which will be the first of nine Rocky franchise movies to not feature Stallone as the title character in any capacity, will be solely a feature on Adonis Creed's story.

The movie, which will introduce a new Creed villain played by Johnathan Majors, will be a new movie for fans of the series all over. Though it will be heart-breaking to miss Rocky, it's time for a new underdog story to take the stage and hold the belt.

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