The superhero that Sylvester Stallone asked on his knees to play and the controversial reason why he was disregarded | Films

There is no shortage of heroes in Sylvester Stallone’s career. The 77-year-old actor is a true veteran when it comes to playing true action movie icons; Whether as a boxer, former war fighter, police officer or even a racing driver, Stallone is guaranteed to be an icon of American cinema. He almost missed out on another title: superhero. During the pre-productions of a classic of the genre, Sly, who had just made waves with his fabulous ‘Rocky: A Wrestler’, almost ended up claiming the name of cinema’s first Superman.

During an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, director Richard Donner recalled one of the most special moments of his career. After the resounding success of the praised and award-winning ‘The Prophecy’ in 1976, Donner ended up falling headlong into a genre still emerging in American cinema: superheroes. Called by a very famous producer, the recently decorated filmmaker was given the task of directing one of the greatest novelties in cinema seen so far. After many problems, gambits and internal conflicts, ‘Superman: The Movie’ debuted on the big screen in 1978.

Until Christopher Reeve took on the role of Clark Kent, several other actors were considered by producers eager to be successful, however. Although Donner trusted the potential of Lynn Stalmaster, the film’s casting director, the choices were not easy — especially when other issues (that did not just involve his name), such as practical effects, were not going very well —, but the essence was to hunt for a name that was in the spotlight at that moment.

It didn’t take long for Richard Donner to meet Sylvester Stallone. At the time, Sly had just made waves with ‘Rocky: A Fighter’, a film with a simple premise, about an amateur boxer who finds himself entering the professional world while dealing with personal issues involving family, love and self-awareness. Little by little, the heartthrob gained public attention and built himself one of the most successful franchises of all time. Still young, in his late twenties, Sylvester was experiencing the wonders of success for the first time. His popularity consequently brought him into the hands of Stalmaster and Donner.

The meeting soon took place, between Sly, his agent and the filmmaker himself. About the event, Richard recalls: “The Salkind [produtor do filme] I wanted a famous name. I went to meet Stallone because of him. I tried to be nice and say, ‘This is wrong.’ I liked Stallone; he was a nice guy. He was willing to do the film. I remember meeting him in his agent’s office and I was as cordial as could be. He was a superstar and I was a nobody.’

The idea was very strange to anyone who imagined it. Sly, from Rocky Balboa to Clark Kent? From an amateur trying to make it in life to an alien superhero disguised as a journalist? It was bizarre to think about. It didn’t take long for the hero to receive a ‘no’. The reason? Some portals report that the excuse given by the studio to dismiss the rising star was that he was ‘too Italian’. The prominent shape of his nose, his tan and even his eyes: Stallone looked more like he came from the Italian countryside than from the fantasy and fictional Krypton — and the producers didn’t accept this well. They decided to go with a standard, neutral vision — that is, white with light eyes, for the role of the young hero.

Other sources also claim something even more insane to think about: Sylvester Stallone would not have been hired for the role of Superman not because of his ethnically strong features, but because of a ‘tantrum’ from another star who did not want to share the spotlight with him. Marlon Brando was his name, of course.

The award-winning actor played the Kryptonian Jor-El, Superman’s father. According to some sources, Stallone did not want to be ‘overshadowed’ by a star much younger than him. Taking into account the weight of Sly’s name at the time, it is not difficult to think that the Don’s ego was hurt; and of course the eager producers would never let the greatest actor of the generation slip out of their hands for someone else (whoever it was). One way or another, Stallone was dropped from the lead role.

That’s when Richard Donner saw a young, thin Christopher Reeve emerge. He was convinced after seeing it in a half-Broadway play. This was the right guy for the role; “I hired him on faith,” he told THR in 2016. Months later, after a lot of sweat, script rewrites, trips around the country, money spent and lots of practical effects, ‘Superman: The Movie’ came out in American theaters. It earned 300 million dollars — which in current corrections would amount to around 1.2 billion dollars worldwide —, becoming a true classic and a great kickstart for superhero films, which would grace cinemas around the world forty years later. .

For Stallone, not a crumb of the Kryptonian was left. At least ‘Rocky’ did well enough in the cinema for a multi-film franchise (and another spin-off) to take over pop culture for the next forty-odd years. The success of the boxer’s film also gave him several other hits, such as ‘Rambo: Programmed to Kill’, ‘Stallone Cobra’ and countless other titles.

Sylvester didn’t want to make a hero film, thank goodness. Time paid off for Sly after so much waiting: he participated in the MCU’s beloved ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ and also in DC’s most recent ‘Suicide Squad’, where he gave life to King Shark. In the end, Stallone got what he always wanted: it was a superhero (on and off screen).

Check out the trailer for the classic ‘Superman: The Movie’, from 1978, with Christopher Reeves.