10 Franchises That Made It To Episode 7 Before Star Wars

10. Rocky

What's the story?

Writer, star and occasional director Sylvester Stallone is the eponymous blue collar pugilist who battles the heavyweight champ, brain damage, Mr. T, and communism, all while running up a lot of steps in power ballad backed montages. 

The series started out an admirable mix of realistic and uplifting, albeit somewhat saccharine, and became increasingly preposterous until back-to-basics sixth episode Rocky Balboa clawed back a bit of respectability.

What's in Part Seven?

A finally retired Rocky returns to boxing to train Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan), the son of his killed-in-the-ring rival Apollo, and, yes, an over the hill Rocky did already train a hungry young fighter in the terrible Rocky V. Directed by Jordan's Fruitvale Station helmer Ryan Coogler, Creed is the first Rocky film without the Italian Stallion in the title and without a writing credit for Stallone.

How does it compare with the previous six?

Creed isn't released until November, just a month before Star Wars, so there's no way to say just yet. 

Described as being essentially a piece of Rocky fan fiction, this shares Star Wars' potential for both greatness and failure when it comes to giving the keys to the kingdom to an ascended fanboy.

Did it go beyond seven?

If Creed is a success, then we could well see the torch passed for a Stallone-lite spin-off franchise. That's a pretty big 'if', though.