Here Comes RAMBO Again, This Time With No Stallone

[AndyDursin]

Please make it stop. I don't even care if this director is capable -- there's zero need to make this film, period.

EXCLUSIVE: Following word this past spring that a package was coming together for a Rambo prequel, Millennium Media looks to have its man as sources tell Deadline that Noah Centineo is attached to star in John Rambo. Sisu director Jalmari Helander is set to direct from a screenplay by writing duo Rory Haines and Sohrab Noshirvani.

Sources say the plan is to shoot top of 2026 in Thailand. Insiders also add that while no deals are in place, Lionsgate is the front-runner to land the package. The studio has released the past two Rambo pics and also has a relationship with Helander having worked with him on Sisu.

The film’s plot is under wraps, but it will be the origin story of a young John Rambo during the Vietnam War. One of the most iconic action heroes in U.S. cinema, the character was created by David Morell in his novel First Blood. The original 1982 film saw saw Sylvester Stallone play the veteran Green Beret, who is forced by a cruel sheriff and his deputies to flee into the mountains and wage an escalating one-man war against his pursuers. The five movies in the franchise have generated more than $800 million worldwide; the most recent, 2019’s Rambo: Last Blood, produced by Millennium and Sly’s Balboa, made $92M at the box office.

As for Stallone, when Deadline first reported on the package, insiders told Deadline he was aware of the project but was not involved, and as of today that remains the same. Sources now say that Stallone has been alerted to Centineo’s attachment.

Producers on the latest installment are Kevin King-Templeton on behalf of Templeton Media, Les Weldon, Jonathan Yunger and Avi Lerner. Executive producers include Trevor Short and Bonfire Legends’ Dallas Sonnier and Amanda Presmyk.

As for Centineo, his star has been on the rise after breakout roles in the Netflix hit series To All the Boys I Loved Before and The Recruit, but this is sort of role that could launch a young star onto the A-list. Up next, he will star as Ken Masters in Legendary’s live-action adaptation of Street Fighter, starring opposite Jason Momoa and Andrew Koji. Directed by Kitao Sakurai, the film is slated for release in 2026.

https://deadline.com/2025/08/rambo-preq ... 236483104/

[Monterey Jack]

Another GD remake/prequel/reboot / it's by the Sisu guy

[AndyDursin]

The SISU guy can go make something else. There is not a single valid, creative reason to make this movie other than to stuff cash in the producers pockets.

Seriously, why would you WANT to see this? What about this character needs to be filled in, in a 2025 movie aimed at a demographic that can't even explain what Vietnam even is?

If they made this as a sequel-reboot it would make more sense. As written up, it's a creative dead end, and a bizarre movie to even make as a prequel at this point in time. Old people won't want to see it, and young people won't care/understand about where it's being set. Genius!

[mkaroly]

What does "A-list" mean at this point? Lol...as if potentially being elevated to that is a good thing???

[AndyDursin]

I thought the "A list" was limited to Pedro Pascal.

Whoever is playing Rambo comes from a connected industry family, so there's that (mother and father both). Not exactly like they're running Paramount, but it never hurts.

[Monterey Jack]

It's just sad that "The A-List" -- both actors and filmmakers alike -- basically boils down to a crack at a decades-old franchise. Zach Cregger is riding high off the success of Weapons right now (95% RT rating, grossing almost twice its modest $38 million budget in a weekend), and yet his next movie is a Resident Evil reboot. Didn't we already get like seven or eight of those? A horror director coming off of two buzzy and successful original movies should keep pushing forward with...original movies, not reheating moldy leftovers. We need more Shyamalans and Peeles and Nolans who have amassed the clout to make whatever the hell they want, and rarely glomming onto existing franchises and recognizable IPs.