Sylvester Stallone doubles down on AI in Hollywood: “This is happening”

Let's talk Sylvester Stallone and the ongoing uproar around artificial intelligence in Hollywood. To say it's got people worked up is putting it mildly. Stallone, not exactly shy of controversy, tossed another log on the AI fire recently and it definitely didn't go unnoticed.

Stallone and the AI Ruckus

So, what kicked things off this time? It's all down to one of Stallone's half-bonkers, half-fascinating film ideas. On The Overlap podcast (yes, he's a podcast guest now too), the Rocky legend responded to the grief he's been catching for his concept of a 'half-human, half-AI' movie. Not some distant sci-fi, but a mainstream bit of film business that would quite literally blend digital brains and flesh-and-blood actors together on screen. Predictably, film purists lost their rag — but Stallone doesn't seem fazed.

Here's how Stallone tackled the backlash on the podcast:

I get in trouble for this [but] AI is here to stay. I wanted to do half-human, half-AI and put it together, and of course everyone’s going nuts. I go, that’s happening, guys. People are selling their images. There’s going to be 20 Elvis avatars. This is happening.

If you think he's backing down, think again. He went on to say he'd happily take the hit — even if, and he admits this, the creative lot have every reason to complain about it. But, in his words, it's an "avalanche" and holding it off would be pointless. Stallone's view: adapt or get flattened by the tech wave.

De-aged Rambo, New-Fangled Actors, and One Dad's Advice

This whole AI bit isn't a new fascination for Stallone either. Back in 2025, he suggested on the Bingeworthy podcast that technology was up to the task of creating a young John Rambo — taking the character back to his 18-year-old days in Saigon, using AI-driven de-aging rather than starting from scratch with a new actor. Executives thought he'd lost the plot. He, meanwhile, insisted it wasn't that much of a stretch: AI could cobble together young Rambo from the digital ether, no problem.

You might think, if you were the next aspiring Stallone, that's enough to send a shiver down your spine. It hasn't escaped him that up-and-coming actors could be in for a rough ride now the tech can replicate just about anyone's face, age and all. According to the man himself, he told his own daughter — Scarlet Rose Stallone — to be sensible and look into gaming or some other field, rather than try to break into an industry being overrun by AI avatars of actors from yesteryear.

Stallone warned his daughter to consider a career in gaming, not acting, because of the rise of AI tools that can simply de-age old stars and make new ones with a few clicks.

Rambo Prequel: But No Sly

By the way, if you heard there's a new Rambo origin movie in development, you've heard right — but don't expect Stallone to pop up. The production is taking a different tack, casting Noah Centineo (yes, the bloke from Street Fighter) in the lead. Stallone isn't attached to the thing at all, which honestly might be for the best if the AI debate continues heading the way it has been.