He might be AARP bait, but don't be fooled: Sylvester Stallone has a few more rounds left in him.
Hot off the box-office success of his revived Rocky and Rambo franchises, the 61-year-old actor has sealed a deal to produce and star in two more action films.
As originally reported in the Hollywood Reporter, Stallone will reunite with producers Danny Dimbort, Avi Lerner and Trevor Short of Nu Image/Millennium Films, the team that supervised the most recent Rambo installment.
Among the projects being bandied about for the HGH-fortified tough guy are—you guessed it—two more sequels in his R and R series.
"The past year and a half of working with Avi, his partners Danny and Trevor and his film family has been nothing but a high point for me and my career and an extremely rewarding experience," Stallone said. "Avi is a real gentleman and a man of his word."
Since Nu Image/Millennium has reached an interim deal with the striking Writers Guild of America, the company will be able to rush development on several screenplays, the first of which should be delivered by the fall and could revolve around one of those characters.
Released in 2006, Rocky Balboa cost $24 million and went on to gross $70 million worldwide. Stallone followed that up with Rambo, which debuted with $18.2 million last weekend and has tallied $25 million in its first 10 days in theaters.
If all goes according to Hoyle, the first film in the new pact could start shooting either late fall or early 2009.
Separately, Stallone has been developing a relaunch of the Death Wish franchise, which was originally fronted by late action hero Charles Bronson. Producers had been hoping to get that project before cameras this spring, pending a strike deal.