Sylvester Stallone's 'Rocky IV' director's cut has 40 more minutes, new title

Sept. 30 (UPI) -- MGM Studios released the trailer for Sylvester Stallone's director's cut of Rocky IV on Thursday. The new cut has additional scenes restored, and the new title Rocky IV: Rocky vs. Drago.

Stallone wrote and directed Rocky IV, which first came out in 1985. His third sequel saw Rocky Balboa travel to Russia to fight their best boxer, Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren) after Drago kills Rocky's mentor Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) in an exhibition bout.

The trailer shows a new scene in which an official (Alan Rich) warns Rocky that Drago has only fought once and killed his opponent. Rich did not appear in the theatrical cut of Rocky IV.

Fathom Events' ticket site confirms 40 minutes of additional footage. The original film ran 91 minutes including credits.

Stallone began sharing Instagram posts from the edition room last year. Stallone initially intended to release the director's cut for the film's 35th anniversary in 2020.

In his Instagram posts, Stallone also shared that he is removing a subplot in which Rocky's brother-in-law, Paulie (Burt Young), has a robot.

Rocky IV: Rocky vs. Drago will play in theaters on Nov. 11 through Fathom Events. On Nov. 12 the new edition of the film will be available on video-on-demand.