Stephan James Wears White Suit in Tribute to Carl Weathers at AFI Fest

Stephan James wore a white three-piece suit to the AFI Fest screening of I Play Rocky, a tribute to Carl Weathers, the actor he plays in the film. Variety reported the look from the screening at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. AFI Fest had listed the screening for October 24.

The idea came from James's publicist, Samantha Hill. Weathers wore a three-piece white suit to the Rocky II premiere in Philadelphia. For the Hollywood screening, King & Bay made James a custom bespoke suit that recreated that look. He also pinned a rose brooch to the outfit, a twist on the original, in which Weathers wore a real rose.

Weathers played Apollo Creed, who fought Rocky Balboa in the first two Rocky films and became his coach in the third. He died in Rocky IV, in a bout against Ivan Drago, played by Dolph Lundgren. Weathers died in 2024.

Before taking the role, James spoke with Michael B. Jordan, who played Apollo Creed's son in three Creed films, according to Variety.

I Play Rocky is directed by Peter Farrelly, who also made the Oscar-winning Green Book. The film follows the making of Sylvester Stallone's original Rocky in 1976. Anthony Ippolito plays Stallone, and AnnaSophia Robb plays Stallone's first wife, Sasha. The supporting cast includes Matt Dillon, Toby Kebbell, Tracy Letts and Jay Duplass.

The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in early September. Amazon MGM will release it in limited theatres on November 6, with a wider release on November 20, Variety reported.

The film's story is about the people who made the first Rocky, and the Weathers tribute fits that theme. Weathers was cast as a rival who became a friend on screen, and his white suit is now part of how the new film is being shown to audiences.