EXCLUSIVE: Amazon MGM Studios has renewed its first-look film and television deal with Sylvester Stallone‘s Balboa Productions. The new multi-year pact gives Amazon MGM Studios first look on narrative features, scripted and unscripted series from Balboa.
With 2026 marking the 50th anniversary of Rocky, the 1976 film written and starring Stallone, Amazon and Balboa are collaborating on new projects and initiatives to honor and expand the legacy of the iconic franchise.
Exploring opportunities within the world of Rocky had been on the agenda since Balboa Productions signed its previous first-look deal with the studio in 2023. The film component of that deal had been at Amazon MGM Studios for the past three years while the TV side was based at MGM Television. Balboa’s film and TV operations will now be aligned, both at mothership Amazon MGM Studios.
Next up for Balboa in features is Amazon MGM Studios’ untitled Mike Thornton film, which has just begun principal photography in Queensland, Australia, starring Reacher‘s Alan Ritchson and directed by Patrick Hughes. In television, as Deadline reported last year, Stallone’s daughter, Sophia Stallone, and her production company, Callisto Media, are developing the psychological series Mindf*ck, based on the book series, for Amazon MGM Studios.
Outside of the deal, Stallone is filming Season 4 of Taylor Sheridan’s Tulsa King for Paramount+, in which he stars and executive produces. In unscripted, Balboa Productions’ competition series Extracted for Fox returns with Season 2 on Jan. 26.
“I’ve been fortunate to tell stories that have connected with audiences for nearly five decades, and I feel more inspired now than ever.” Stallone said. “Amazon has shown tremendous passion for where we can go next, especially as we approach the 50th anniversary of Rocky. They’ve always been a terrific creative partner, and with Courtenay Valenti leading the film vision and Peter Friedlander shaping Amazon’s global TV strategy under Mike Hopkins’ studio leadership, that relationship is deepening at exactly the right moment. This deal gives Balboa the support and freedom to build projects that are truly special. I couldn’t be more excited for what’s ahead.”
Balboa Productions has been behind several Amazon MGM Studios movies, including Samaritan, which was released exclusively on streaming, and Creed III and A Working Man, which both opened at #1 at the U.S. box office. (The studio last year greenlighted Delphi, a TV series set in the Creed movie universe, in which Stallone and Balboa have no involvement.)
The company also produced Rambo: Last Blood for Lionsgate, One Night: Joshua Vs. Ruiz for DAZN, Netflix documentary Sly and The Family Stallone for Paramount+.
“Balboa Productions has proven to be a powerful, global storytelling engine for our film and television business,” said Valenti, Head of Film, Streaming and Theatrical, and Friedlander, Head of Global Television, Amazon MGM Studios. “We value their proven track record and the creative vision they bring to every project. As we continue to invest in streaming and theatrical features and signature series — and approach the 50th anniversary of Rocky — this deal deepens a strategic relationship with Sly and the Balboa team that we at Amazon MGM Studios are thrilled to continue.”
Balboa’s slate is led by D. Matt Geller, Head of Scripted Development & Production, and Kourosh Taj, Head of Unscripted Development & Special Projects. The company has added Christian Bersani as VP, Development and Max Benowitz as Creative Executive.
The new deal “lets us build the kind of muscular, character-driven stories that have defined Sly’s career, but at a scale that matches today’s global audience and marks a defining chapter for Balboa as the team gears up to deliver our most ambitious scripted work yet, the run that will define Balboa,” Geller said.
Added Taj, “On the unscripted side, we’re focused on creating premium, event-level series that feel as urgent and bold as the films, and that with Amazon behind us, we can take big creative swings and bring audiences closer to Sly’s world than ever before.”
Recent Kennedy Center honoree Stallone, whose book The Steps will be published May 5, and Balboa Productions are repped by Independent Artist Group and Kleinberg Lange Cuddy & Carlo.