A new Rambo film is in the works, this time in the form of a prequel, reportedly titled 'John Rambo', with the backing of Millennium Media. Jalmari Helander, who helmed the critically acclaimed Finnish action thriller Sisu (and its upcoming sequel), is attached to direct.
Actor Noah Centineo is said to be circling the iconic action role immortalised by Sylvester Stallone through five movies. The new film is expected to explore Rambo's younger days, his stint in the Vietnam War, and the events before the original film, First Blood, based on David Morell's novel of the same name.
Centineo, last seen in Ray Mendoza and Alex Garland's anti-war film Warfare, began his career in minor roles over a decade ago in television before appearing in the third season of the show The Fosters and later in Netflix's To All the Boys I've Loved Before movie series. His early work established him as a teen idol.
He recently rose to prominence in Dwayne Johnson's DCEU movie Black Adam as the 'Atom Smasher', followed by a lead role as a CIA lawyer in the 2022 series The Recruit. Centineo's casting as a soldier in Warfare most likely influenced his casting as the Green Beret in John Rambo, making him an ideal choice. Interestingly, Centineo is half-Italian, just like Stallone.
In the first film, Stallone played a Vietnam War veteran who is still reeling from the after-effects of the trauma from his war experience, which are once again triggered when he is harassed by a corrupt local sheriff and his team, forcing Rambo to go on the run and eventually engage in a violent confrontation with his adversaries.
While the first film was more of a character-based thriller, the second film, co-written by James Cameron, went into full-on action movie mode, a formula followed by the subsequent entries Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985), Rambo III (1988), Rambo (2008) and Rambo: Last Blood (2019), The combined gross of the franchise totals to over $800 million worldwide.