The upcoming Rambo origin film, тιтled John Rambo, has found its leading man. David Morrell’s 1972 novel First Blood first introduced the Vietnam veteran and former prisoner of war who finds himself in a one-man battle against his enemies, but it was Sylvester Stallone’s film series that catapulted the character into pop culture.

Since the First Blood film was released 1982, Sylvester Stallone has starred in all five movies about the character, most recently in 2019’s Rambo: Last Blood. But with Stallone at 79 years of age and the desire for more stories about the character enduring, the future of the franchise is, for now, in Rambo’s past.

ᴅᴇᴀᴅline has reported that, according to its sources, The Recruit and To All The Boys series star Noah Centineo has been tapped to play Rambo in John Rambo. Also said to be on board the film are Sisu director Jalmari Helander and writers Rory Haines and Sohrab Noshirvani.

The film is from Millennium Media with no distributor attached as of yet, although Lionsgate, which released the previous two Rambo franchise films as well as Helander’s Sisu, is a likely candidate.

What Noah Centineo’s Casting Means For John Rambo

Noah Centineo’s casting marks a huge change for the Rambo movies, as he will be the first actor other than Sylvester Stallone to portray the character in the beloved film franchise. It’s a big step considering Stallone has owned the live-action portrayal of Rambo for nearly four decades.

Centineo’s casting also seemingly further confirms the fact that John Rambo will explore the character’s time in the Vietnam War. In First Blood, the character of Rambo is said to have been 34 years old, with Stallone around that age at the time of shooting. Centineo is currently 29, which lines up with the age a younger Rambo should be.

Centineo has quite the legacy to live up to. ᴅᴇᴀᴅline also reported that while Sylvester Stallone is aware of Centineo’s casting, the action star is not involved in the film, and has not yet commented on the choice.

Our Take On Noah Centineo’s Casting

In some ways, Noah Centineo seems like a strong choice to take over one of Sylvester Stallone’s most iconic roles. The actor may have come to the awareness of many through his work as Peter on the Netflix franchise To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, but he has also demonstrated that he can hold his own in higher-octane projects.

Centineo also played Owen Hendricks for two seasons of Netflix’s The Recruit, and turned in a memorable performance as Atom Smasher in 2022’s Black Adam. As Rambo is something of an exaggerated character, Centineo may find himself in an acting sweet spot between the groundedness of The Recruit and the bombast of his superhero film.