Rocky Balboa is the most underrated movie of the Rocky franchise, and it perfectly encapsulates why I am okay with Sylvester Stallone being missing from Creed 4. The story of Creed 4 was confirmed to be in development shortly after the release of Creed III, though Michael B. Jordan did insist a break would be taken from the franchise. Interestingly, Creed III was the first film in the expanded Rocky universe not to feature the Italian Stallion himself, leading to the question of whether Rocky Balboa will be in Creed 4.

Admittedly, it is unlikely for Stallone to change his mind and come back for the next Creed film. Despite the Creed series doing some things better than the Rocky movies, Stallone felt that Creed III‘s story was too dark and that he prefers his characters to have lighter arcs. Although this likely means Stallone will never reprise his role as Rocky again, I am surprisingly okay with this. The reason for this stems from what I think is one of the most underrated movies in the highly-ranked Rocky series: Rocky Balboa.

Rocky Balboa Deserves More Love For Bringing Rocky Back After Multiple Disappointments

Rocky Balboa Is Seemingly Forgotten About

Rocky Balboa is the sixth entry in the Rocky series and was released in 2006, 16 years after the failure of Rocky V. Rocky Balboa was responsible for putting Rocky back on the cinematic map after decades of failure, with even Rocky IV – despite the nostalgic love it possesses today – being poorly reviewed in 1985. For over 20 years, Rocky declined from the heights of the first two movies, and I think Rocky Balboa deserves more love than it gets for bringing him back into the public discourse of iconic cinema heroes.

Rocky Balboa, despite doing this for both the character and the franchise as a whole, often feels to me like a forgotten entry in the series. When talking about the Rocky franchise, everyone seems to talk about the Creed trilogy, as it is more recent, Rocky V, for how bad it is, Rocky III and IV, for their silliness and nostalgia, and the original movie, for its sheer quality. This omits Rocky II and Rocky Balboa. Of those two, the latter was responsible for single-handedly revitalizing the franchise, and I feel it deserves more praise for that feat.

Without Rocky Balboa, The Creed Franchise Would Have Never Worked

Rocky Balboa Was A Good Middle Ground Between Rocky V & Creed

To further support how Rocky Balboa deserves more credit, it was also important to the Creed franchise becoming what it is today. Creed undoubtedly still would have worked if Rocky Balboa did not exist, given the sheer talent of writer-director Ryan Coogler. That said, there is no denying that Rocky Balboa provided the foundations for a lot of Rocky’s character moments in the 2015 film. For instance, Rocky’s cancer storyline is more impactful in Creed due to the knowledge that Adrian died of cancer, something that is shown to impact Rocky greatly in Rocky Balboa.

Also, from a broader perspective, the desire for Creed may not have been as strong without Rocky Balboa. Rocky V left a bad taste in the mouths of many, especially those who were fans of the Italian Stallion and his franchise. If Rocky Balboa had not achieved what it did in revitalizing the franchise, the character, and, to an extent, Sylvester Stallone himself, who was undergoing a rough period in the 2000s/late 1990s, Creed may not have been accepted as broadly, as it would have been the sequel to the worst Rocky movie of all time without Rocky Balboa.

Rocky Balboa Was A Great Final Adventure For Stallone’s Character

Even After Creed & Creed II

Aside from the implications Rocky Balboa has had on the overall franchise, it remains the case that it is simply a great movie. As a final standalone adventure for the тιтular character, the film works on almost every level. The writing was bold by Sylvester Stallone in separating Rocky from Adrian by revealing the latter had died off-screen while giving her a lovely legacy in the form of Rocky’s restaurant. This, combined with the shaky relationship between Rocky and his son, Robert, allowed Rocky Balboa to have the foundations of a great final character arc for the beloved boxer.

What makes Rocky Balboa even more impressive is how it takes those foundations and crafts a solid comeback story that fixes several problems with Rocky III, IV, and V. Those three films were known for being over-the-top, exaggerated, and filled with silly elements that do not work as well today as they did in the 80s and 90. Rocky Balboa fixes that by making the story much more grounded, and, while not without its dramatized elements, feels much more akin to the original two movies. Combining this with some all-time Rocky quotes, Rocky Balboa works as a redemptive final standalone adventure for the character.

Creed Has Also Given Rocky A Perfect Sendoff Already

Meaning His Role In Creed 4 Is Not Needed

The obvious love I have for Rocky Balboa is proof of why I do not believe Stallone is needed in Creed 4. Even without Creed and Creed II, Rocky Balboa would work as the last time we saw the lovable hero in a way that Rocky V definitely would not have. Beyond the sixth movie, however, I do not think Stallone is needed in Creed 4 because of how well his last two appearances in the spin-off series treated him. In Creed II especially, Rocky Balboa received another near-perfect send-off that aligned with the story of Rocky Balboa.

A big subplot of Creed II where Rocky was concerned related to his relationship with Adonis, but also his relationship with his son, Robert. As I have already alluded to, Rocky Balboa explored how estranged Robert and Rocky were, which Creed II leaned much heavier into. It was clear throughout the film that Rocky wanted to reconnect with his son, with the final scene in the movie showing exactly this happening.

The scene is heartwarmingly beautiful as a final send-off for the character, providing yet another one after Rocky Balboa. More importantly, this scene from Creed II links directly to a character arc that was teased a decade earlier in the 2006 film. For this reason, Stallone is not a necessity for Creed 4. Not only has the sorely underrated Rocky Balboa given the тιтular boxer a perfect standalone send-off, but Creed II allowed the final unresolved subplots of the film to have a conclusion, proving that, even if there is no future for the Italian Stallion, this would not be an unwelcome reality.