Balboa is also considered one of the most iconic fictional characters, and the franchise is closely linked with its successful theme songs, including "Gonna Fly Now", "Eye of the Tiger", and "Burning Heart".

Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) is a small-time boxer who works as a collector for a loan shark and fights in sleazy clubs for low pay.

At the same time, Rocky successfully courts Adrian Pennino (Talia Shire), a painfully shy woman with an alcoholic brother, Paulie (Burt Young).

With Adrian's support, sponsorship offers with the help from Paulie, and Mickey becoming his trainer and manager, Rocky is determined to go the distance with Creed and fights for his self-respect.

Soon after proving himself, even with a split decision loss to Apollo Creed, Rocky marries Adrian and begins spending the money he earned from the match.

For the first time, Rocky is declared the World Heavyweight Champion; even Apollo shows respect for him as he regains his support from fans for doing a fair fight.

After winning the heavyweight title, Rocky takes advantage of his newfound wealth and fame, appearing in multiple advertisements, charity and fundraisers, and television programs.

After defending the title multiple times, he is prepared to retire, but the number one contender, Clubber Lang (Mr. T), challenges Rocky publicly.

Rocky trains in a remote cabin in Siberia with the help of Creed's old trainer Duke, his brother-in-law Paulie, and eventually Adrian, doing exercises such as chopping wood, lifting rocks, running in the snow and climbing a mountain, while Drago is seen in an advanced training facility running on treadmills, using weightlifting machines and injecting steroids to boost his strength.

He eventually wins over the foreign crowd with his display of courage and determination, and he knocks Drago out with seconds left in the final round.

In the aftermath of his fight with Ivan Drago, Rocky Balboa is diagnosed with brain damage and is forced to retire from the ring.

Three years after losing the fight to "Pretty" Ricky Conlan, Adonis Johnson Creed wins the World Heavyweight Championship and proposes to his girlfriend, Bianca Taylor (Tessa Thompson).

Drago, seeing his son taking Adonis’ punches without fighting back, throws in the towel and assures Viktor that he is more important to him and that he will not abandon him like he was.

That same month, professional boxer Deontay Wilder announced plans to begin a career in acting, stating specifically that he wanted to play James "Clubber" Lang's son in Creed III.

[5] Producers expressed interest in having Jordan serve as director, with Irwin Winkler stating that he had personally offered the position to the actor.

He stated that, while he has tried to attain part of the rights to a franchise he was instrumental in creating, the producers have been "exploiting" his characters while trying to keep him out of the creative team.

The actor revealed that the plot will center around the characters of Ivan and Viktor Drago; with the pair deciding to leave Russia after the country's invasion of Ukraine, and immigrating to the United States.

Conceptualized as an epilogue story, the film is said to be about Rocky befriending a young fighter who is a foreigner, stuck illegally in the United States.

[26] However, in a November 2021 Instagram post, Stallone expressed doubt about the film being greenlit, due to his souring relationship with producer Irwin Winkler.

[27] In November 2022, Stallone confirmed that the studio wants another Rocky film, but that negotiations to attain part of the rights to the character from the producers stalled development.

[34] In July 2019, Sylvester Stallone announced that there are "ongoing discussions" about a Rocky prequel television series, with the project intended to premiere on a streaming service platform.

[35] In March 2021, Stallone revealed he had started working on the script for a prequel series that will take place during the 1960s, with intention for the show to be developed as a streaming exclusive with multiple seasons, each consisting of ten episodes.

He also stated that the "value behind this deal is the treasure trove of IP in the deep catalog that we plan to reimagine and develop together with MGM's talented team".

[18] In March 2023, it was reported that Amazon intends to expand the franchise, with various projects in development including Stallone's previously identified series.

[40] In September 2024, Stallone detailed his continued work in writing the series, while also confirming that the plot centers around younger-aged Rocky, Adrian, and Paulie.

[41] In March 2023, it was announced that Michael B. Jordan would be involved with expanding the franchise with additional Creed spin-offs on Amazon Prime Video.

On December 7, 2010, Stallone was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame and Museum, for paying tribute to boxers in writing and creating the underdog character of Rocky.

[78][79][80] A manga adaptation of Rocky was published in May 1977 in Monthly Shonen Magazine, written and drawn by female mangaka Tamiki Noda.

In the January 2022 issue of Empire, published in November 2021, Ralph Macchio revealed that he had previously been approached about a potential Rocky and The Karate Kid crossover film in 2012, to be directed by John G. Avildsen which would follow Daniel LaRusso's daughter and Milo Ventimiglia's Rocky Balboa Jr. "get[ting] together and open[ing] a dojo".

Describing the concept as "awful", Macchio declined reprising his role and the project subsequently entered development hell, before being abandoned in favor of Creed and Cobra Kai individually.