Stallone Explains the Shocking Deaths in ‘Tulsa King’ Season 4

WHO:

Collider - Sylvester Stallone explained why *Tulsa King* killed off two major characters.

TVLine - Stallone said the deaths were his idea and part of a larger plan for the recently announced Season 5.

TVLine - Dwight Manfredi, also known as “The General,” is played by Stallone.

TVLine - Rocky Balboa’s wife Adrian was played by Talia Shire in *Rocky* and four subsequent sequels.

WHAT:

Collider - *Tulsa King* Season 4 killed off two major characters.

TVLine - Stallone described the deaths as a way to disrupt the show’s growing predictability and create grief for Manfredi.

TVLine - Stallone said Manfredi “plays a dangerous game of chess” and is “never in the moment, especially after what just happened.”

TVLine - Stallone said Manfredi’s single-mindedness may bring success, but his life is marked by paranoia and unhappiness: “It’s not a good life. It’s not a happy life. It’s a life of paranoia.”

TVLine - Stallone said Manfredi has become superstitious and religious, questions whether he caused the tragedy, goes to church, and uses AI to talk about God.

TVLine - Stallone described Manfredi as “quite tortured by his survival” and said he thought that would be interesting.

TVLine - Stallone said the deaths would lead to something “sensational.”

WHY:

TVLine - Stallone said Manfredi’s successes made him “too successful,” leaving the show “redundant and predictable”; he said, “So, tragedy hits. It hurts.”

TVLine - Stallone drew on Rocky Balboa’s grief after Adrian died off-screen before the 2006 film *Rocky Balboa*. He recalled thinking, “Oh my God, this is really brutal,” but said Adrian’s death was necessary so Rocky would face grief and loneliness.

TVLine - Stallone said he wanted to create a similar challenge for Manfredi.

HOW:

TVLine - Stallone said Manfredi’s search for answers includes going to church and using AI to discuss God and survivor’s guilt.

TVLine - Stallone said viewers saw Manfredi fixate on cross jewelry in the episode discussed by the article.

(UPDATED October 24, 2026 16:04 UTC)

Sylvester Stallone says the deaths of two major characters in *Tulsa King* Season 4 were his idea, intended to unsettle viewers and give Dwight “The General” Manfredi a serious personal challenge. Stallone said Manfredi had become so successful that the show risked feeling predictable, so tragedy would force a change. The deaths are also part of a broader plan for the recently announced Season 5, which Stallone says will lead to something “sensational.” Manfredi, he explained, is always playing a dangerous game of chess, rarely living in the moment. His success comes with paranoia, unhappiness and guilt over surviving the tragedy. He questions whether he caused it, goes to church, fixates on cross jewelry and uses AI to discuss God. Stallone drew inspiration from Rocky Balboa’s grief after Adrian’s death, saying he wanted Manfredi to face a similar loneliness.