This New Photo Of Stallone And Schwarzenegger Is Turning Heads

Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger are the two most dominant icons of the action hero scene, so comparisons between the two are inevitable. In a 2013 appearance on David Letterman's talk show (via Business Insider), Stallone admitted that since the two action stars were long-time career rivals, they hated each other with a passion throughout the 1980s. Fortunately, their frosty relationship has thawed in their later years. "Now we have this mutual respect, we're survivors," Stallone told Letterman. "And now it's like, 'You know what? This guy is pretty special'." 

The pair's friendship may have been a long time coming, but late still tends to be better than never. Once the action icons mended their fences, they've appeared in multiple movies together, from the three "The Expendables" movies to 2013's "Escape Plan." Now, the pair have made a new appearance together, this time in photo form ... and the new image of Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger is certainly turning heads. 

The Italian Stallion and the Austrian Oak are finally back together. In a photo posted on Stallone's official Instagram account, the two action stars smile warmly at the camera, with Schwarzenegger's arm thrown over Stallone's shoulder as a sign of their camaraderie. "The first time I've seen Arnold in over a year! And the gang..." Stallone's accompanying text says and tags said gang, which includes the German actor-bodybuilder Ralf Moeller, as well as the "Rocky" star's brother, Frank Stallone. Another image shows the entire quartet posing together. 

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the two stars — like much of the world — have been rather socially distant as of late. Schwarzenegger has been vocal about the importance of such safety measures (via CBS News), and Stallone has been waxing nostalgic about his action stars friends (via Men's Health). 

As such, the fact that the pair have finally managed to meet up in person is a momentous occasion, and many fans were over the moon when they saw the pair posing happily together. Fire, fist, and flexed biceps emojis abound in the comments, and the messages from Stallone's followers were overwhelmingly positive. "What a great photo!!! What a great reunion!!! Keep punching!," user Marimcosta wrote. "Rocky and Terminator forever!!!" Alexnovikov.albota alluded to the pair's most famous action roles. "The two greatest action stars of all time!" user Jonathan.bowden12 summed up the general sentiment, and added the extremely appropriate hashtag #legends.

Will Stallone and Schwarzenegger's joyous reunion lead to yet another movie project together, or are they simply content to have a quiet meet-up and reminisce on the old times? Either way, fans are clearly incredibly happy to see them together.