The year was 1986. Violence was on the rise in Los Angeles and crime was becoming a disease quickly spreading through the town. Sylvester Stallone’s Cobra was the cure. The action cult classic may not have seen the rave reviews of his earlier work, but it went on to gross over $160 million worldwide at the box office, proving to be huge potential for a franchise that went nowhere, but that might change.
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In a press junket at the Cannes Film Festival, Stallone reflected on the gritty action hit after asked by an audience member about the film, as reported by Deadline:
“That (conceit) was what if Bruce Springsteen had a gun? That was rock n’ roll meets drama. That should have been another franchise because that character was so cool. And I blew it. My personal life got in the way.”
But despite the potential franchise having died off after the film’s release, Stallone also discussed the possibility of new life for the aviator-wearing character, albeit one major difference:
“But we’re trying to bring it back as a streaming TV series. Bring out the zombie squad. I’m long gone, but the idea is really good.”
The chance to see the one-line spewing police lieutenant return to a screen in a streaming series format would prove to remain faithful to the original film’s tone as streaming service’s including Netflix and Hulu can debut edgier and more graphic content in line with the gratuitous violence and frequent language Cobra lives his life by.
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Written by Stallone and directed by George P. Cosmatos (Tombstone), the film is loosely based on the novel Fair Game by Paula Gosling, with the majority of the ideas for the script coming from his time working on the script rewrites for Beverly Hills Cop that were ultimately rejected by Paramount Pictures. The plot followed LAPD Lieutenant Marion “Cobra” Cobretti, a member of the agency’s elite “Zombie Squad” division, as he works to bring down the ultraviolent supremacist group The New World.
The veteran writer-director-actor is currently working on the post-production for the fifth installment of the long-running action franchise Rambo V: Last Blood, which will also mark his final portrayal of the classic character, and is set to hit theaters on September 20.
