Sylvester Stallone's cut of Rocky 4 is coming to theaters for one night only this November. The extended edition, titled Rocky IV: Rocky Vs. Drago – The Ultimate Director's Cut, will include 40 minutes of unseen footage.
Some screenings will include an exclusive Q&A with Stallone and a look at the making of the director's cut. The event is happening on November 11, and tickets are on sale now at Fathom Events. You can watch the official trailer for the recut on YouTube.
Rocky 4 sees Apollo Creed, Rocky Balboa's enemy-turned-friend, killed in the boxing ring against the seemingly unbeatable Russian fighter, Ivan Drago. The movie earned over $300 million worldwide during its original 1985 box office run.
We already know that Paulie's robot will not appear in the Rocky 4 Director's Cut, with Stallone saying, "the robot is going to the junkyard forever."
Last summer, Sylvester Stallone confirmed he was working on a director's cut for Rocky 4 while promoting Rambo: Last Blood. At the time, Stallone said on Instagram, "I am doing a directors cut on Rocky IV which will be amazing!!!!!"
The Drago story continued in 2018's Creed II, which saw Apollo Creed's son, Michael B. Jordan's Adonis Creed, face off against Ivan's son, Viktor. In our Creed II review, we said, "While Creed II continues boxer Adonis Creed’s fight to establish his own identity, the sequel ironically falls victim to the very lesson he has to learn: the only way to live up to a legacy is to create your own."
Creed 3 is currently in the works, with Jordan set to direct the next entry in the Rocky spinoff series. However, the Italian Stallion won't appear in the threequel, as the series shifts its focus to building the world around Adonis. In 2018, Stallone officially retired Rocky Balboa, saying, "though it breaks my heart, sadly all things must pass."
Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN, and Rocky IV is in his top five movies of all time. You can find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.