Rocky Resurrected?

The ring of the bell, the unmistakeable smell of spilt blood and those big, big shorts. The pugilistic attractions of the boxing ring have obviously lost none of their appeal for Sylvester Stallone for he's nearing a final deal to write, star in and produce – you must have guessed it, by now – yep, Rocky VI. Obviously not afraid of flogging the proverbial dead horse - Stallone's also been reportedly developing a Rambo IV - the next round in Rocky's life is reportedly set to return to what is amusingly described as the franchise's 'indie-style' roots. The original 1976 film that started all the fighting madness off was made at the cost of 'only' just over $1 million but went on to pocket more than $220 million worldwide for MGM. According to The Hollywood Reporter, such an 'indie' style will be echoed by the new film's 'low' budget of $10 to $15 million. The predictable-sounding storyline will apparently find Stallone as the now 50-year-old Rocky Balboa who's forsaken the ring to run a youth centre and work on that middle-aged spread. Naturally, for an as yet undisclosed reason – we're betting on Mr Balboa personally and honourably fighting for the survival of his kids centre – he gets lured out of retirement and into the ring for one last fight. Whether he'll be able to get himself and his beer belly up those stairs to the tune of "Eye of The Tiger" is, however, another question altogether.