I Play Rocky trailer introduces Sylvester Stallone fighting for his movie

The biographical drama, focusing on the behind-the-scenes of making Rocky, releases this November.

By Saloni Gajjar | July 15, 2026 | 10:11am

Photo: Amazon/MGM Studios

Film News I Play Rocky

I Play Rocky trailer introduces Sylvester Stallone fighting for his movie

The theme of 1976’s Rocky—about an underdog boxer beating the odds to become triumphant—also applies to the film’s tumultuous production saga itself. Writer-star Sylvester Stallone had to fight hard to lead the movie, whose script he famously wrote in only three days. As a relative newcomer back then, nobody wanted to cast him, but the actor’s bet on himself paid off, and Rocky became an Oscar-winning worldwide phenomenon. Now, this whole tale is the basis for a biographical drama, aptly titled I Play Rocky.

Anthony Ippolito (who also played Al Pacino in 2022’s The Offer) morphs into Stallone in the first trailer for I Play Rocky. As seen in the footage below, the film follows relative Hollywood newbie Sylvester, who is unable to secure the type of roles he desperately wants. Encouraged by his girlfriend, Sasha Czack (AnnaSophia Robb), he puts pen to paper and writes a script for himself. While the studio executives love the story, they don’t want to cast Sylvester, leading to a rights battle that the latter eventually wins.

Brace yourselves, because the trailer not only features Philadelphia’s “Rocky Steps” to tug at your nostalgia, but also some heavy Italian accents. However, the real Stallone isn’t involved with the film at all. He told The Playlist last year that “I was shocked to hear about it. I have zero to do with it.”

The film, written by Peter Gamble and directed by Peter Farrelly, also stars Tracy Letts, Jay Duplass, P.J. Byrne, Stephan James, Toby Kebbell, and Matt Dillon. It releases in theaters on November 6. Watch the full trailer below:

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