Stallone Calls D-Tox His Biggest Career Regret: ‘It Had the Smell of Death’

Sylvester Stallone is synonymous with Hollywood success—his iconic roles in Rocky and Rambo, along with his legendary status in the Expendables series, cemented his place in cinematic history. However, not all of his career choices have been as flawless as his performances. In fact, at the turn of the 2000s, Stallone found himself in the midst of a career freefall, marked by a series of bad decisions that nearly destroyed his standing in the industry.

Stallone’s downward spiral in the early 2000s saw him involved in films like Get Carter, Driven, and Avenging Angelo, which did little to enhance his reputation. His directorial aspirations were dashed when a planned project about the rivalry between Tupac Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G. was shelved. The actor, who had once seemed untouchable, suddenly found himself unable to make the right moves in Hollywood. In a 2019 interview with Variety, Stallone reflected on those darker days, openly admitting that poor career choices led to his fall from grace.

The Film That Nearly Ruined It All: D-Tox

According to Stallone, the pivotal moment in his career came with the 2002 psychological thriller D-Tox (also known as Eye See You after a failed release). “I think it happened because I wasn’t as diligent as I should have been with making certain career choices,” Stallone explained. D-Tox, which starred Stallone alongside Tom Berenger, Polly Walker, Robert Patrick, and Kris Kristofferson, seemed promising at first. However, the film’s troubled production, marked by creative clashes and studio interference, quickly led to disaster.

The plot centers around Stallone’s character, an FBI agent hunting a serial killer responsible for murdering his partner. Initially, D-Tox had a strong cast and an intriguing premise, but problems emerged early on. After test screenings revealed dissatisfaction, the producers decided to change direction, ordering a series of re-shoots. When these efforts failed to fix the film, the movie was shelved entirely by Universal Pictures for two years.

In an interview with Ain’t It Cool News, Stallone was blunt about the film’s downfall. “A film is a very delicate creature,” he said, recognizing that any negative publicity or internal turmoil can severely impact a project. D-Tox was already marred by overages and tensions between the director, Jim Gillespie (I Know What You Did Last Summer), and the studio. The original producer pulling out only compounded the issues, leading the film to be branded as “damaged goods.”

The Fallout: D-Tox’s Public Reception

Despite efforts to salvage D-Tox with re-shoots, it still struggled with poor reception. Critics were quick to dismiss it, and the movie received lackluster reviews upon its eventual release under the new title Eye See You. Stallone, who had hoped the project would revitalize his career, found himself facing a significant blow to his reputation. “The movie had the smell of death about it,” he lamented. “Actually, if you looked up, you could see celluloid buzzards circling as we lay there dying on the distributor’s floor.”

Despite the movie’s failure, Stallone was candid about the reasons behind its struggles. He acknowledged the significant impact of internal conflicts and the studio’s lack of confidence, which ultimately led to D-Tox becoming a box-office disaster. Whether the movie was fundamentally flawed or simply derailed by external pressures remains unclear, but it was certainly a setback for the actor at a time when his career was already faltering.

A Turning Point in Stallone’s Career

D-Tox became a symbol of Stallone’s struggles during this period, reinforcing the perception that his star was on the decline. However, Stallone would go on to find redemption with the resurgence of the Rocky and Rambo franchises, as well as the successful Expendables series, which brought him back to the forefront of action cinema.

Looking back, Stallone reflects on the lessons learned from his career missteps. His experiences with D-Tox reinforced the importance of carefully considering his career choices, something he seems to have taken to heart in his more recent endeavors. Despite the setbacks, Stallone was able to rebound and eventually reclaim his status as one of Hollywood’s most enduring stars.

In the end, the failure of D-Tox serves as a reminder of the unpredictable nature of Hollywood careers, even for actors of Stallone’s caliber. Yet, it is also a testament to his resilience, proving that even after hitting rock bottom, he was able to rise again—proving, as his career has shown, that in the movie business, a comeback is always possible.