Carl Weathers and Sylvester Stallone have been at odds with one another since prior to the release of Rocky Balboa in 2006.
Apparently, the man who played Apollo Creed in the first four Rocky films wanted a role in the sixth entry, even though — SPOILER ALERT — his character was killed off in part four.
Stallone revealed as much in an Ain’t It Cool News interview promoting Rocky Balboa around the time of its release.
Since that time, fans have been left to wonder whether there was still a riff between the two as Carl Weathers had flatly refused to allow Stallone to show any of his likeness without a part in the movie.
When TMZ caught up with Weathers earlier this year to ask him about the new Rocky film, now called Creed , it appeared as though there might still be some tension.
If you’re not in a place where you can watch what Carl Weathers has to say to the TMZ reporter in the video above, here is the abbreviated version.
Weathers flatly stated, “I have no comment on the new Rocky movie.” After that point, the reporter pressed further, asking him if he would be up for playing a zombie Apollo Creed.
Again, he repeated the “no comment” line, looking and sounding clearly annoyed by the questioner.
That brief interview was posted in February of this year. Sometime between then and now, however, it appears as though the issue, if there still was an issue, got worked out.
Carl Weathers took to Twitter, praising both Michael B. Jordan (Adonis Creed) and Stallone for their performances in the film.
Here are the series of tweets confirming there are no hard feelings between Weathers and Stallone.
This pic made my day! Long live legends @TheCarlWeathers @TheSlyStallone @michaelb4jordan #Creed movie is EPIC! pic.twitter.com/hrGxhSRo7q
— Brian Gutmann (@brican2005) November 20, 2015
Man this means everything!!! ??RT @TheCarlWeathers : @michaelb4jordan You did well for the CREED name!… https://t.co/ROnbMTDClB — Michael B Jordan (@michaelb4jordan) November 22, 2015
@thepetemossshow Michael B’s CREED will entertain a lot of people. Coogler did a great job. Sly’s never been better. Go see it! #BePeace
— Carl Weathers (@TheCarlWeathers) November 21, 2015
There you have it. Not only did Carl Weathers show up for a meet-and-greet with Jordan and Sly, he heaped praise on both men. While he may be rekindling old friendships, he has used his Twitter account lately to make a few enemies on the political right.
The reason?
Weathers reposted an image of a think-piece on how it’s harder for a young woman to get an abortion than it is for a young man to buy a gun. It was not clear whether Weathers wrote the diatribe himself, but he clearly endorsed it.
In the two paragraphs, which you can read in their entirety below, he makes a case for “common sense” gun laws.
APOLLO CREED is dead. Long live CREED! #BePeace pic.twitter.com/KcaleiobV2
— Carl Weathers (@TheCarlWeathers) November 24, 2015
In the process, he disappointed more than a few fans, with one chastising, “Sir, never thought I would see such nonsense coming from you.”
“I thought you were smarter than this,” remarked another fan. “Really disappointed in you.”
To his credit, Carl Weathers didn’t try to take on any of his detractors, opting instead for well wishes and promoting his action parody with Nissan and Mickey Rourke.
As to whether fans can plan on seeing more Apollo Creed — perhaps in a flashback or dream sequence — that’s unlikely.
He is not listed as having any new scenes in Creed , and it would probably be quite a reach to pull that off in a gritty, realistic boxing film, which many critics have credited this with being.
Do you think Carl Weathers and Sly Stallone have mended their differences, or were they ever in need of mending to begin with? Sound off in the comments section.
https://youtu.be/z7ZxytxUtTQ
[Image via United Artists]