Rather than retelling Rocky Balboa’s rise from club fighter to heavyweight title challenger, I Play Rocky focuses on Stallone’s refusal to sell his screenplay unless he was cast in the lead role. At the time, he was an unknown actor repeatedly turned down by studios that wanted established stars to play the fictional Philadelphia boxer.

Anthony Ippolito portrays Stallone in the film, with director Peter Farrelly bringing the real-life underdog story to the screen.

The film’s synopsis describes it as the true story of “an unknown actor with an unshakable belief that he wasn’t just meant to write Rocky. He was meant to be Rocky Balboa,” detailing how Stallone continued betting on himself despite being told no at every turn.

Matt Dillon, AnnaSophia Robb, P.J. Byrne, Toby Kebbell, Tracy Letts, Jay Duplass and Stephan James are among the cast. Ippolito previously portrayed Al Pacino in the Paramount+ miniseries The Offer.

The original Rocky, released in 1976 on roughly a $1 million budget, became one of the biggest success stories in Hollywood history. It earned nearly $225 million during its initial theatrical run, won the Academy Award for Best Picture and launched a franchise that has expanded through the Creed films and generated nearly $2 billion at the global box office.

Fans will also have another chance to see the original movie on the big screen this fall, with a newly remastered 4K theatrical re-release planned as part of the film’s 50th anniversary celebration.