See Sylvester Stallone Return To His Iconic Landmark

Sylvester Stallone shocked fans in Philadelphia recently by visiting the Rocky Steps.

By Vic Medina | Published

Sylvester Stallone returned to the scene of his greatest cinematic triumph recently, visiting the famed “Rocky Steps,” the iconic 72 steps that lead up to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Their inclusion in the famous scene in the original Rocky in 1976 has made the location a tourist attraction, and is still the home of the Rocky Balboa statue, although it is now displayed in a plaza to the side of the steps. “Feels like coming home…With the family,” the Tulsa King actor wrote in the Instagram post featuring video of the visit, which included his wife and three daughters at his side.

The visit comes just as Stallone has seemingly stepped away from the Rocky franchise for good. He will not appear in the third Creed film, even after earning an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor for the first Creed. Although he wished star Michael B. Jordan and the crew well, he indicated he did not like the direction of Creed III’s storyline.

He also clashed with Rocky and Creed producer Irwin Winkler, who owns the rights to the Rocky franchise and any spinoffs, yet refuses to give Stallone any ownership rights to the character he created. The rift also caused a potential Drago spinoff with Dolph Lundgren to fall apart, after Lundgren refused to participate with any project without Stallone.

It’s also been a time of personal turmoil for Stallone. His wife Jennifer Flavin recently filed for divorce, but they later reconciled, and her presence with him seems to indicate all is well. He is still very close to his daughters, who act and model, as well as host their own podcast.

sylvester stallone
Sylvester Stallone on Philadelphia’s famed steps in Rocky (1976)

The 76-year-old-actor recently revealed that he will return to voice the character of King Shark in a follow-up to DC’s The Suicide Squad, although exact word on a start of production or a release date has been kept under wraps. “Yes, for sure,” he said of a potential return. “I think James has been very generous…He and I are pretty tight.”

With James Gunn now in charge of the DC Cinematic Universe as co-chair and CEO of DC Studios, it is likely we’ll see King Shark in action again soon. Of course, Stallone will also return to the role of Stakar Ogord (aka Starhawk) in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, also directed by Gunn and due in theaters next year.

Sylvester Stallone is also riding high on the ratings success of his new Paramount+ series Tulsa King. Created by Taylor Sheridan (Yellowstone, 1886), the series follows Dwight “The General” Manfredi (Stallone), a recently-paroled mobster who is sent to Tulsa to take care of business there. Although bitter to be given a job he feels is beneath him, he uses the opportunity to build a criminal empire of his own.

The series has been a smash hit for the streaming service, and is one of its most-viewed programs. It has also driven a number of new subscribers to the relatively-new service.