Sylvester Stallone Wants His Rocky Statue Back. And the City Is Giving It to Him
But don't worry, Philly: You get to keep a replica.
Then-mayor Jim Kenney and Sylvester Stallone pose with the original Rocky statue outside of the Philadelphia Art Museum in 2018. (Getty Images)
Update: On Wednesday morning, city officials announced that Sylvester Stallone has decided to let Philadelphia keep the original Rocky statue. More on his reasoning here.
Original:
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Sylvester Stallone Wants His Rocky Statue Back. And the City of Philadelphia Is Giving It to Him
Philadelphia has changed a lot over the last two decades, but a very important, very Philly thing has stayed the same. Since 2006, the Rocky statue has sat at the foot of the Philadelphia Art Museum’s steps, just to the right, where hordes of fans of the movie franchise queue up for selfies with a statue of the Italian Stallion. Long before “Instagrammable moments” were a thing, Rocky was there, 24/7, ready for his close-up with whoever wanted to mimic his raised, ripped arms. But that could soon change.
The city intends to remove the statue – which was made as a movie prop for Rocky III (think Hulk Hogan as Thunderlips and Mr. T as “Clubber Lang”) – and return it to its original owner, Sylvester Stallone, who commissioned the eight-and-a-half foot bronze in 1982 and eventually donated it to the city. They plan to swap it out with a replica – made from the exact same mold by the exact same artist who Stallone commissioned in the first place.
Which begs the question: Why?
“He asked for it back, for reasons I don’t know,” says City of Philadelphia chief cultural officer Valerie Gay. “And we are happy to respect his wishes. We are extremely happy to have him swap it out with this other statue.”
That “other statue,” as you may or may not know, is already on Art Museum property, standing awkwardly at the top of the museum’s 72 steps (within sight of the other Rocky statue below) where it was placed in December 2024 to celebrate the city’s inaugural RockyFest, a month-long event dedicated to the film that won best picture at the Oscars in 1977. It’s Stallone’s personal casting of the statue, which he lent to the city for the fest (does he keep extras in his garage?), and its placement was reportedly supposed to be temporary.
Now, though, the loaner will belong to the city, and the original – the one that was in the actual movie – will go home with Stallone. The matter is up for discussion at a Philadelphia Art Commission meeting on Wednesday.
The city says it intends to use $150,000 of taxpayer money to install the knock-off Rocky statue in a permanent location on top of the steps. Which is funny. Because, for a while, the original statue actually did sit at the top of the steps but was removed amid debates over its cultural worth. After all, said naysayers back then, the bronze was a movie prop for a not particularly good movie sequel. Plopping it directly in front of our world-class art museum felt like an insult to the Cézannes and Duchamps inside. The statue was exiled for a while to a spot outside the Spectrum (RIP!), then moved back to the museum for the filming of the nausea-inducing Rocky V. After that? Back to the Spectrum. And then, officials moved it to its present, less showy location off to the right of the steps.
And now comes word that Rocky will be right back where he started, at the top of the steps, this time for good.
The Rocky statue atop the Philadelphia Art Museum steps in 1990 (Getty Images)
Gay and Anglin noted the seeming irony in their letter, but offered new insight about the statue’s cultural relevance and worth, writing:
We also see this as an opportunity to lean into the evolving conversation about what is considered ‘art,’ and what deserves a place in our most treasured civic spaces. The Rocky statue is a clear example of this evolution. Its artistic significance has not been shaped by institutions, but by the millions of people who engage with it year after year. By formalizing its placement at the top of the steps, we are seeking to honor that public connection, strengthen this iconic site, and enhance the experience for residents and visitors.”
As a longtime Rocky fan and city booster, I’m not opposed to the placement at the top of the steps. But let’s be real: the statue that actually belongs up there is the one that was actually created for the movie. I don’t care that the replica was created from the exact same mold that the exact same sculptor used for the original. That’s like saying that taking a selfie with Stallone is the same as taking one with the wax Sly at Madame Tussaud’s. The replica is missing all the original’s history, grit and heart. It feels like a cheat.
“I’m agnostic as far as which statue we have,” insists Kathryn Ott Lovell, head of the Philadelphia Visitor Center, who describes herself as the world’s biggest Rocky fan. “Just so we have a statue. And they are really identical statues. I never really understood how intertwined Philly and Rocky were until I started working in the tourism industry here. People love that statue.”
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