As is seemingly the case with all actors who become box office superstars, Sylvester Stallone has spent much of his Hollywood career trying to navigate the divide between ambition and commerce, between expanding his creative horizons and simply playing it safe. Indeed, Stallone’s career is emblematic of how success, instead of freeing stars to take more creative risks, typically makes them more risk averse, as they invariably seek to prolong their stardom by cocooning themselves within a proven commercial formula.