Sylvester Stallone officially leaves his character Rocky Balboa

By Colin Stevens

Rocky Balboa, a character created and performed by Sylvester Stallone since the release of the original film in 1976, officially hangs his gloves.

In a heartfelt video posted on Instagram, Stallone bids farewell to the character who launched his career, noting that the story will continue with the portrait of Adonis Creed by Michael B. Jordan. The video can be seen here.

"Well, it's probably my last rodeo because … I thought Rocky was finished in 2006, and I was very happy, and all of a sudden [motioning off-screen to Michael B. Jordan] this young man has come forward and the whole story has changed. He has moved on to a new generation. New problems. New adventures. And I could not be happier, because taking a step back, as my story was, a whole new world will open for the public for this generation. "

In the article's caption, Stallone wrote: "I just want to thank everyone around the world for bringing the Rocky family into their hearts for over 40 years. Ultimate privilege to be able to create and play this meaningful character.Although it breaks my heart, unfortunately, all things must pbad … and end.I love you Gentle and generous, and the most wonderful thing is that ROCKY will never die because he lives in you … "

Stallone described Rocky in eight films: Rocky I, II, III, IV and V, Rocky Balboa and Creed I and II, receiving Academy Award nominations for Best Actor and Supporting Actor in the process. He also wrote or co-wrote all of Rocky's films with the exception of Creed, which was written by Ryan Coogler and Aaron Covington, and directed himself four of the entries.

Although Rocky is perhaps the most famous role of Stallone, he is also known to have played in the Rambo series, The Expendables, Demolition Man and many others. It should be noted that Stallone has left a little room for maneuver saying it's "probably" his last rodeo as Rocky, although the rest of his speech and writing seems more concrete.

Creed II, which hit the floor on November 21, had an excellent theatrical season, opening second place against Ralph Breaks on the Internet. In our review of the film, we called it "OK" saying, "The story of Adonis continues in Creed II, but the terrifying Dragos nearly broke him, he and his franchise in the making."

Colin Stevens is an IGN journalist and Spy Kids 3 is clearly Stallone's brilliant moment. Follow on Twitter.