Sylvester Stallone will no longer wear his Rocky costume

Cinema

American actor Sylvester Stallone announced on Wednesday that he would no longer take on the role of Rocky Balboa, believing that it was time to make room for the younger generation embodied by the new hero of the saga, Adonis Johnson.

"Today, when I retire and my story has been told, a new world opens for the public with this generation," says the actor in a message posted on Instagram, apparently recorded during the filming of "Creed II ", released November 21 in the United States.

Since 1976, Sylvester Stallone has played eight roles that made him famous and earned him several Oscar nominations.

"Even if it breaks my heart, everything has an end," he wrote on Instagram. "Rocky will never die because he lives in you," he tells fans of the saga.

"It has been a huge privilege for me to be able to create and play this important character," said the 72-year-old comedian, screenwriter, director and producer.

"I thought Rocky was finished in 2006 and that filled me perfectly," he says in this video shot at night in what looks like a wasteland, in the presence of the "Creed II" team.

"And all of a sudden, this young man showed up and the whole story has changed," he continues, presumably pointing to the actor Michael B. Jordan, present during the shooting of the video even if he stays out field.

In "Creed – The legacy of Rocky Balboa" and "Creed II", the young actor plays Adonis Johnson, son of the boxer Apollo Creed, best friend of Rocky Balboa died under the blows of the Soviet Ivan Drago during a fight at the top .

After an initial refusal, Stallone finally accepted the proposal of the young director Ryan Coogler, who wanted to revive the saga in a much more current version.

Released in 2015, "Creed", in which Rocky prepares Adonis for a professional fight, has been a worldwide hit with $ 173 million in revenue, according to the box office site Mojo Specialized.

The eighth installment of the saga, "Creed II", seems set to do at least as much, having realized last weekend, the best start ever seen in the United States for a film including Rocky.