Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds dominated the box office and awards ceremonies in 2009. Starring Brad Pitt, Christoph Waltz, and Michael Fassbender, the war film turned into another Tarantino classic. However, there were whispers that three mega ’80s action heroes, including Sylvester Stallone, were attached to the movie once upon a time.
During a Q&A for Ain’t It Cool News in 2006, a fan asked Stallone about the rumors that he, Bruce Willis, and Arnold Schwarzenegger were set to appear in Tarantino’s Inglorious Basterds. “I would love to work with Quentin Tarantino and had heard rumors about this World War II epic,” Stallone said. “I would be insane not to work with such a brilliant filmmaker.”
As it turns out, the rumors about Stallone and Co. joining Inglourious Basterds were only just that: rumors. In a conversation with Empire, Tarantino almost lost his nut about it, stating, “I never threw any of those names around, alright!” Sheesh! Okay, Quentin, calm down. Nobody died here…
While Tarantino was adamant that Stallone hadn’t been in the running for Inglourious Basterds, he’s an admitted fan of the Italian Stallion and Rocky. “Rocky was a very important movie to me when I saw it at 12 or 13,” Tarantino told Inquirer. “It didn’t make me want to be a filmmaker, but it made me want to be involved in film. Stallone’s whole story of writing the Rocky screenplay was influential to me. He was like a people’s champion as far as I was concerned. I remember rooting for him at the Academy Awards, like somebody had snuck into Hollywood.”
Stallone and Tarantino nearly teamed up, too. The Pulp Fiction filmmaker wanted Stallone for 2007’s Death Proof, which formed a part of the Grindhouse anthology that Tarantino did with Robert Rodriguez. It wasn’t clear which role Tarantino had eyed for Stallone, but in all likelihood, it was probably for the part of the villainous Stuntman Mike; Kurt Russell played this character in the end.
Stallone addressed why this team-up didn’t happen in the same Q&A with AICN. “I was hoping to work with Quentin in his new Grindhouse film, but unfortunately Rocky and Rambo duties prevented that from happening,” he said.
It’s a shame that Stallone and Tarantino haven’t worked together yet. While their careers have followed two different paths, it isn’t too difficult to see that they could have created magic together in a film. All things considered, though, don’t ask Tarantino if he ever considered Stallone for Inglourious Basterds; he might take your head off.
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According to a TMZ report from March 2026, however, that could change. The two may be teaming up to co-direct a six-part, 1930s-set gangster series. Neither Stallone nor Tarantino has confirmed the rumor, and no network or release date has been announced. Then again, after everything above, we’ll believe it when we see it.
