Sylvester Stallone’s most prominent role right now is in Tulsa King. The Taylor Sheridan-created television series features the star as an aging mafia man sent to Tulsa, Oklahoma after he is released from his 25-year prison sentence. The series began in 2022 and has released two seasons so far. As with many of Sheridan’s shows, it has been incredibly successful thus far, garnering critical acclaim and high viewership numbers from audiences. Tulsa King season 3 has also been seemingly confirmed by Stallone.
Not all of Stallone’s projects have been so lucky. For all of his Oscar-nominated work such as Rocky, the action star has also suffered from critical and box office failure. In his multi-decade career, three Stallone movies have gotten an impressively bad 0% Tomatometer on Rotten Tomatoes, including Staying Alive, Armor, and this year’s Alarum. Despite his movies making $4 billion in box office earnings, Stallone has been known to make the occasional big flop. Now, the actor discusses the relationship between one such flop and Tulsa King.
Stallone Compares Get Carter To Tulsa King
Stallone Said Get Carter Was Like “A Prequel”
Stallone speaks about the connection between Tulsa King and Get Carter. The 2000 movie is a remake of the 1971 action film of the same name. It stars Stallone as a Vegas-based mob enforcer named Jack Carter who travels back to his hometown to look into the death of his brother. Get Carter was poorly reviewed by critics, getting a mere 11% Tomatometer. The film also failed at the box office, grossing $19.4 million on an estimated $63.6 million budget.
Speaking on his official Instagram page, Stallone discussed the unique relationship he sees between Get Carter and Tulsa King. The actor said that his Jack Carter role was the perfect preparation to play Dwight Manfredi. He even went so far as to say that Get Carter is a “prequel” of sorts to Tulsa King. He also referred to the critically panned movie as “underrated” and one of his “BEST films.”
Our Take On The Tulsa King And Get Carter Connection
The Two Have Some Similar Qualities
Get Carter and Tulsa King have some similarities in that they both feature protagonists who have to come to a somewhat unfamiliar environment (in Get Carter’s case, one from yesteryear) after several years. Both are also complicated protagonists. On the one hand, Jack and Dwight are the main characters of their respective projects, but they are also kind of villains as well. That is, these men are not “good guys”; they are people with troubled pasts who are still highly integrated in the mafia life, which leads them to have several run-ins with the law.
The actor does say that it is underrated, so perhaps this could be an attempt to retroactively restore the reputation of his two-decade-old film through the better reception of his current series.
That said, Get Carter and Tulsa King are still very different stories. The latter is highly influenced by Stallone playing an aging mafia man rather than in his prime. This makes the focus of Tulsa King far different from that of Get Carter, as Dwight had been in prison for years before the events of the Sheridan series and thus has more baggage when coming to the show. Jack Carter had a strong motive, but lacked the wisdom that Jack does in Tulsa King. Still, it is interesting to see how the actor considers his two roles similar.
Is This A Wise Comparison To Make?
It Might Be Best To Forget The Weaker Parts Of Stallone’s Career
Beyond their plots themselves, the biggest difference between Get Carter and Tulsa King is their reception. Unlike the 2000 film, Tulsa King has received good reviews during its run so far. The second season’s reception even grew from the first’s, receiving a perfect 100% Tomatometer to season 1’s 79%. This gives Tulsa King a universally positive 89% for the series as a whole, showing its great strength. In terms of critical reception, it could not be more different than Get Carter.
As such, it is a little odd for Stallone to jump to comparing the two projects, and even calling Get Carter a spiritual prequel to his Paramount+ series. The actor does say that it is underrated, so perhaps this could be an attempt to retroactively restore the reputation of his two-decade-old film through the better reception of his current series. Given Stallone’s inconsistent career history, however, it might be best to divorce Tulsa King from his film career on the whole. It will be interesting to see if this Get Carter comparison ever comes up in interviews.