Robert De Niro And Sylvester Stallone May Get Back In The Ring For Grudge Match

There's been a rumor floating around for a few years that Robert De Niro
and Sylvester Stallone, the actors behind two of the most famous boxers
to ever it make it onscreen, might get back in the ring for a film
called Grudge Match, in which they'd play a pair of aging boxers
who go after each other in one last match. There's been no more word
about the project in years, but it is reported that there might be life in it yet-- they say both Stallone and De Niro are in negotiations to star, with Get Smart and Anger Management director Peter Segal on board to guide it.


The presence of Segal, whose background is almost entirely in comedies, suggests Grudge Match would be a lot goofier than either Rocky or Raging Bull,
and it's kind of hard to imagine Stallone and De Niro stepping back
into their Rocky Balboa and Jake la Motta characters only to do a bunch
of pratfalls. Granted, nothing is concrete yet-- Stallone's
representatives would only confirm that he's "considering the role," and
nobody else would confirm anything, so it's entirely possible this is
in the early stages and won't happen at all.


I worry that this will be a comedy more in de Niro's Meet the Fockers
vein, which wouldn't do anything for anyone. But if there's even a hint
of a dramatic streak in there, or any of the commitment de Niro brought
to his performance as Jake La Motta 30 years ago, there might be
something worth reviving here, beyond the sheer novelty of seeing these
two onscreen.