A Rambo prequel is officially in development. The iconic action movie franchise, which stars Sylvester Stallone in the role of John Rambo, kicked off in 1982 with the smash hit First Blood, which followed the Vietnam veteran character being targeted by Washington law enforcement, unleashing memories of his time as a prisoner of war that caused him to react violently to the situation. The first movie grossed $160.3 million against a reported budget of $15 million, spawning a multimedia franchise that now includes five Rambo movies, the most recent of which was 2019’s Last Blood.

Per ᴅᴇᴀᴅline, Millennium Media is bringing a prequel тιтled John Rambo to the Cannes market. The movie, which is scheduled to begin shooting in Thailand this October, will follow the character’s exploits during the Vietnam War. The project has a team attached that includes director Jalmari Helander (Sisu, Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale) and screenwriting team Rory Haines and Sohrab Noshirvani (Black Adam, The Mauritanian). Sylvester Stallone is not currently attached to the movie in any capacity, though that may change.

John Rambo will be produced by Avi Lerner, Les Weldon, Jonathan Yunger, and Templeton Media’s Kevin King-Templeton and executive produced by Trevor Short and Bonfire Legends’ Amanda Presmyk and Dallas Sonnier. Below, read comments about the prequel movie from Helander and Yunger, the latter of whom is the President of Millennium Media:

Jonathan Yunger: We are thrilled to introduce a fresh new chapter to the Rambo legacy. This project is a tribute to one of the best franchises in movie history that will appeal to both longtime fans and new audiences alike. With Jalmari Helander at the helm — a filmmaker of exceptional vision and energy — we’ve found the perfect director to deliver a high-concept action-packed experience.

Jalmari Helandar: I have been the biggest fan of Rambo since the age of 11. It is so surreal to be in a situation where I can actually make my own Rambo movie. The chain of events that got me here makes, in a fantastic way, my whole childhood make sense. I can’t wait to bring the greatest action hero back to the big screen where he belongs.

What This Means For John Rambo

It Has Already ᴀssembled A Promising Team

Helandar is a filmmaker whose credentials show that he would most likely be a great choice to helm a prequel to the iconic Sylvester Stallone movies. While this is true of the Finnish filmmaker’s feature debut Rare Exports, which showed that he has a deft hand at breathing new life into genre elements, that was a horror movie rather than an action movie. However, he later proved his facility with action with Sisu, which has a similar feel to the Rambo sequels, as it follows a lone prospector fighting a group of Nazis during the end of World War II.

It also seems somewhat unlikely that Stallone will remain unattached to the project for long. He has been advocating for a Rambo prequel since 2019, when he told ScreenRant that he wanted a movie to explore the character’s younger years. However, he described a movie in which the character was a teenager and the audience could see him being “the perfect guy” and “the most popular kid in school” before the war changed him. The new movie’s major differences from that concept may be one reason he is not already attached, though he reportedly knows about the project.

Our Take On The Rambo Prequel

The Concept Is Questionable

While it would make the most sense for a Rambo prequel to explore the character’s time during the Vietnam War, which is the most important element of his backstory, that might not actually be a good idea. Watching the character be traumatized by his experiences might be unnecessarily brutal for an installment in a popular action franchise. Though the previous movies are admittedly violent and intense, there might not be enough worthy information to glean from a story that takes such a tonal swerve into darkness.

Source: ᴅᴇᴀᴅline

Rambo

Movie(s)

First Blood (1982), Rambo: First Blood Part 2, Rambo 3, Rambo, Rambo: Last Blood (2019)

Created by

David Morrell

First Film

First Blood (1982)

Latest Film

Rambo: Last Blood

First TV Show

Rambo: The Force of Freedom

Summary

Beginning with the novel and the film First Blood in 1982, Rambo is an action-adventure franchise starring Sylvester Stallone as John Rambo, a Vietnam War veteran embroiled in violent conflicts that test his survival skills. The series has enjoyed critical success over several decades, branching into comic books, video games, and more.

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