Sylvester Stallone movies in order

From Rocky Balboa and John Rambo, to John Spartan and Judge Dredd, Sylvester Stallone has played many iconic roles, across a wealth of movies. The actor – whose films career stretches back to the late 1960s – has built up a sizeable portfolio of pictures, which has made him one of the most popular actors in Tinsel Town.

But if you’re a complete newcomer to the acting talents of Sylvester Stallone, are you aware of all his film projects? If you were asked to list all of the movies he has starred in, do you believe you could do it?

Well, don’t worry, because you don’t have to list them, and you don’t have to miss out. In this post I am taking a look back at the film career of Sylvester Stallone with a list of all his movies!

Taking things decade by decade, I am providing a rundown of all his films. So, whether it’s Cobra or Daylight, Cop Land or Tango & Cash, you’ll find all of Stallone’s movies housed in one place!

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1960s/1970s

Sylvester Stallone’s film career began in 1969, with a role in the movie The Square Root. From here, he slid into the 1970s with a couple of uncredited parts in films such as The Sidelong Glances of a Pigeon Kicker and Bananas, before taking on roles in The Lords of Flatbush and Death Race 2000.

However, it wasn’t until 1976 that the actor really made a name for himself, via a little ol’ sports drama called Rocky. The movie told the story of underdog, Rocky Balboa, and his dreams of hitting the big time in the world of boxing.

Having penned the script for Rocky, Stallone took on the lead role for the film, and it proved to be a masterstroke. The part not only raised Stallone’s profile quite considerably, it also provided him with a signature role that would remain with him throughout his career.

Sylvester Stallone’s movies during the ‘60s and ‘70s included:

• The Square Root (1969)
• The Sidelong Glances of a Pigeon Kicker (1970)*
• Bananas (1971)*
• No Place to Hide (1973)
• The Lords of Flatbush (1974)
• The Prisoner of Second Avenue (1975)
• Capone (1975)
• Death Race 2000 (1975)
• Farewell, My Lovely (1975)
• Carquake (1976)*
• Rocky (1976)
• F.I.S.T (1978)
• Paradise Alley (1978)
• Rocky II (1979)

*Uncredited role

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The 1980s

Moving into the 1980s, and following the success of Rocky and its 1979 sequel, Rocky II, Stallone’s star status continued to rise. He appeared in movies such as Nighthawks and Escape to Victory, reprised the role of Rocky Balboa for Rocky III, then took on the part of John Rambo for the movie, First Blood.

Once again, First Blood proved to be another popular film for Stallone, and another wise move. The movie gelled with audiences thanks to its content, and not only gave Stallone another signature role to sit alongside the Rocky films, it also opened up the door for a string of sequels.

Those sequels were Rambo: First Blood Part II and Rambo III, which made their debut in 1985 and 1988 respectively. These movies were just two of a number of hit films for the actor throughout the ‘80s, with other fan-favourite pictures including Cobra and Tango & Cash.

Sylvester Stallone’s movies during the 1980s included:

• Nighthawks (1981)
• Escape to Victory (1981)
• Rocky III (1982)
• First Blood (1982)
• Staying Alive (1983)*
• Rhinestone (1984)
• Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985)
• Rocky IV (1985)
• Cobra (1986)
• Over the Top (1987)
• Rambo III (1988)
• Lock Up (1989)
• Tango & Cash (1989)

*Uncredited role

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1990s

Moving into the ‘90s now, and after reprising the role of Rocky Balboa for Rocky V, the actor took on a string of new parts for films including Cliffhanger, Demolition Man, and Assassins. In 1995, Stallone played the role of comic book character, Judge Dredd in the movie of the same name, and in 1998 he provided voice work for the animated film, Antz.

Sylvester Stallone’s movies during the 1990s included:

• Rocky V (1990)
• Oscar (1991)
• Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot (1992)
• Cliffhanger (1993)
• Demolition Man (1993)
• The Specialist (1994)
• Judge Dredd (1995)
• Assassins (1995)
• Daylight (1996)
• Cop Land (1997)
• An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn (1997)
• The Good Life (1997)
• Antz (1998)

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2000s

Into the 2000s now, and Stallone kicked off the new decade (and the new millennium) with the film Get Carter – a remake of the 1971 movie of the same name. He followed this up with movies including Driven, D-Tox, and Avenging Angelo.

Although his workload decreased a little during this decade, compared with what had come before, Stallone was still popping up in plenty of movies. He also took the opportunity to return to two of his biggest franchises, with a sixth instalment in the Rocky series and a fourth entry for Rambo.

His films throughout the ‘00s included:

• Get Carter (2000)
• Driven (2001)
• D-Tox (2002) (aka Eye See You)
• Avenging Angelo (2002)
• Taxi 3 (2003)*
• Shade (2003)
• Spy Kids 3: Game Over (2003)
• Rocky Balboa (2006)
• Rambo (2008)
• Kambakkht Ishq (2009)

*Uncredited role

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2010s

Moving into the 2010s, and Stallone increased his output once more. He also took the opportunity to make a few strategic moves, that proved very successful.

The first was to front the action movie, The Expendables, which not only proved to be a box-office winner, but also launched a whole new franchise. Throughout the 2010s, Stallone appeared in no-less than three Expendables movies, proving that heading up this film was a very smart decision indeed!

The second strategic move was to appear in the film, Escape Plan, opposite fellow actor, Arnold Schwarzenegger. Once again, the film proved financially successful, and this provided Stallone with yet another franchise, that led to three Escape Plan movies being released in this decade too!

Onto strategic move number three, and this saw Stallone reprise the role of Rocky Balboa for spin-off movie, Creed. However, this film was a Rocky-adjacent story, with Balboa as a side character rather than the lead, and this allowed the actor to side-step any franchise fatigue connected to the Rocky series.

After all this, Stallone then took on a role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, via Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. The role was only a small one, but it allowed the actor to connect with new fans, in arguably the biggest and most successful movie universe of all-time.

And if all that wasn’t enough, Stallone moved onto strategic move number five, by rounding out the decade with yet another Rambo film. But the unique selling point here was that this would be Rambo’s swansong, which allowed the actor to put to bed one of his most iconic characters.

It is fair to say, the 2010s were very good to Sylvester Stallone. While the decade may have been filled with sequels, it was also a time in which Stallone had many successes.

Sylvester Stallone’s movies throughout the 2010s included:

• The Expendables (2010)
• Zookeeper (2011)
• The Expendables 2 (2012)
• Bullet to the Head (2012)
• Escape Plan (2013)
• Grudge Match (2013)
• The Expendables 3 (2014)
• Collection (2014)
• Creed (2015)
• Ratchet & Clank (2016)
• Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)
• Animal Crackers (2017)
• Escape Plan 2 (2018)
• Creed II (2018)
• Backtrace (2018)
• Escape Plan 3 (2019)
• Rambo: Last Blood (2019)

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2020s

And finally, sliding into the 2020s and Stallone continues to appear in high-profile films, building on what had come before. In 2021 he joined the DC Extended Universe, playing the role of King Shark for The Suicide Squad, before taking on another comic book role for Samaritan.

Moving forward, his portfolio began to increase with yet another Expendables film, as well as another appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Sylvester Stallone’s movies in the 2020s include:

• The Suicide Squad (2021)
• Samaritan (2022)
• The Expendables 4 (2023)
• Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)

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So, those are all the Sylvester Stallone movies, but what are your favourites? Are you a fan of Demolition Man or is Cliffhanger your go-to movie? Perhaps Rocky III is the best of the best for you, or maybe Cobra?

Whatever your favourite Sylvester Stallone movie, be sure to drop a comment below.

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And if you are a fan of Sylvester Stallone you might like to know that many of his hit movies are available to buy on DVD and Blu-ray, including the action film, Daylight.

If you’ve not watched Daylight before, the movie is an action-packed disaster film, in which Stallone plays a former NYC Emergency Medical Services chief, tasked with rescuing survivors who have become trapped inside a tunnel.

The Daylight DVD is available from all good entertainment stockists, including Amazon US and Amazon UK.

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