Sylvester Stallone Says His Absence from 'Creed 3' Is 'Regretful': 'I Know What It Could Have Been'

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Sylvester Stallone's relationship with the Creed franchise is a little rocky.

In a new interview with Hollywood Reporter, the 76-year-old actor was asked if it was going to be weird to watch Creed III, the newest installment and first film in the franchise he will be absent from.

"That's a regretful situation because I know what it could have been," Stallone told THR. "It was taken in a direction that is quite different than I would've taken it."

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A rep for the actor, who starred as retired boxer-turned-mentor Rocky Balboa in the first two Creed installments, confirmed to the outlet that Stallone would be absent from the film in April of 2021

In June, the actor explained that he simply "bowed out," saying that "I just didn't know if there was any part for me."

The Rocky star said that while he "wishes" producer Irwin Winkler and Michael B. Jordan the best — the film is the Black Panther actor's directorial debut — he simply has a "different philosophy."

"I'm much more of a sentimentalist," Stallone said. "I like my heroes getting beat up, but I just don't want them going into that dark space."

"I just feel people have enough darkness," the star added.

Barry Wetcher/MGM/Warner Bros. Sylvester Stallone and Michael B. Jordan in Creed

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Stallone also said that he is being excluded from the expansion of the Rocky universe after he was asked about the rumored spinoff centered on Ivan Drago, a movie the Rambo actor previously said he was not informed about.

"This is a classic case of them going around and trying to continually cherry-pick aspects of Rocky without even asking me if I want to join in," Stallone told THR. "I'm the only one left out."

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Creed III, which will follow Rocky's former mentee, boxer Adonis Creed (Jordan) and new boxer Damian Anderson (Jonathan Majors), is set to hit theaters March 3, 2023.