Sylvester Stallone is no stranger to the world of superheroes, starring in movies like Judge Dredd and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. He was even considered for the lead role in Superman: The Movie once upon a time, but it turns out there was another dream role he had his eye on....literally!
"I don’t look like any comic book character," he said during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. "Like, I could have never played the Terminator. No one would make a robot with a crooked mouth and voice that sounds like a pallbearer."
"It just doesn’t work. But yes. Who was the guy Sam Jackson ended up playing? Yeah [Nick Fury]. I thought I could have done something like that, where I’m not the main guy."
Sly probably would have made a much better Fury than David Hasselhoff ever did back in the day, so it's a shame this never happened. Samuel L. Jackson has helped make the character iconic, though, and it's now hard to imagine anyone else bringing the S.H.I.E.L.D. Director to life on screen.
In the same interview, Stallone was asked to share his thoughts on how superhero movies now overshadow action blockbusters, but he has a bigger issue with an overreliance on CGI.
"Yes, it is [frustrating]," the actor admits. "[Great action movies are] like buying a vintage watch. Originally it was $35, and now it’s $35,000. Why? Because it’s handmade. It wasn’t over the top. It wasn’t supernatural. It was something a unique human being could achieve. That’s why I think First Blood is one of the first action films."
"I relied on body acting to tell the story. The character never talks, but you know exactly what’s going on through the other characters. They’re almost like narrators in his Greek tragedy. The guy never stops moving, and that’s what I call an 'action film.' There’s not one CGI shot. The audience goes: That is pretty special."
It is a shame that action movies have now become a little more niche in recent years, but the John Wick franchise, for example, proves there is still interest in the genre.
Do you think Stallone would have made a good Nick Fury?