Amazon MGM Studios just dropped a new clip from I Play Rocky, and it is the one I have been waiting for. Titled “Meeting Carl Weathers,” the scene introduces Stephan James as the late Carl Weathers, the actor who would become Apollo Creed, as he crosses paths with a young Sylvester Stallone, played by Anthony Ippolito.

Anyone’s got a shot at winning.

One line from the clip says everything about this movie: “Anyone’s got a shot at winning.” That is the heart of Rocky, and it was the heart of the real story behind it too. Stallone was an unknown actor who had written the script himself and refused to sell it unless he could play the lead.

Anybody who knows Rocky history knows why this meeting matters. Carl Weathers famously walked into his audition and told the producers he could do better with a real actor, not realizing the man reading opposite him had written the movie. Stallone loved the fire, and Weathers got the part. Apollo Creed went on to become one of the most iconic Black characters of that era, a champion with charm and swagger who made Rocky better just by standing across the ring from him.
Stephan James has big shoes to fill, and I believe he is up for it. We have already seen what he can do as Jesse Owens in Race and as Fonny in If Beale Street Could Talk, and this clip is our first real look at how he honors the man who gave Apollo his swagger.
The film is directed by Academy Award winner Peter Farrelly and also stars Toby Kebbell and P.J. Byrne as producers Robert Chartoff and Irwin Winkler, with Jay Duplass as director John G. Avildsen. It finished as runner-up for the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival in September.
What I love about this story is the faith it took. Both of these men walked into rooms where nobody was sure about them yet, and both believed they belonged there. Most of us know what it feels like to hold on to something God put in our hearts while the world tells us to wait our turn. I Play Rocky is now playing in select theaters and opens nationwide November 20. Watch the clip, then go cheer for the underdog.