Sylvester Stallone confirms he won't appear in Creed III

Sylvester Stallone has confirmed he won't be making an appearance in Creed III.

It was announced in early March that Michael B. Jordan, the star of the Creed boxing franchise, will be making his feature directorial debut with the third instalment, which is scheduled to be released in November 2022.

Stallone, who has reprised his role as Rocky Balboa in the previous two films, stated that he wouldn't be returning for Creed III when he recently replied to a comment on Instagram.

"Is there a chance of a Creed 3?" the user asked, to which the action star replied, "It will be done but I won't be in it. Keep punching."

His representative has now confirmed the news to The Hollywood Reporter, although they offered no additional information.

Stallone first played his iconic character in 1976's Rocky, which he also wrote, and went on to star in five sequels and appear in the Creed spin-off franchise as a mentor to Jordan's lead character Adonis 'Donnie' Creed. He earned a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award nomination for his performance in 2015's Creed, and last played Balboa in 2018's Creed II.

Creed III will be the first film in the eight-movie Rocky series to not feature Stallone, who directed four of the instalments.

He recently announced the recut of his 1985 movie Rocky IV, with him explaining on social media that he was never satisfied with the original cut of the film and felt grateful to be able to go back and create his vision.

During 2021, Stallone will be seen in the movie Samaritan and providing the voice of King Shark in James Gunn's The Suicide Squad.