Rambo’s Origin: Can the Russos Rescue the Franchise without Stallone?

Talk of a Rambo prequel has circulated for years, and now it’s officially moving forward. Fans of the franchise, having awaited fresh blood since Sylvester Stallone’s likely final outing in Rambo: Last Blood in 2019, should take note. The rights to the franchise have been secured in a broad deal between Lionsgate and Millennium Media. Lionsgate will distribute the new prequel film and play a leading role in any Rambo television ventures. While the prequel was originally intended as a TV series, the project shifted to a movie, though a TV spin-off remains plausible under the new deal.

Jalmari Helander, known for his 2022 hit Sisu, is now at the helm of the Rambo origin story. Helander’s approach earned acclaim for tackling a near-silent protagonist against overwhelming Nazi forces, with his sequel, Sisu: Road to Revenge, arriving November 21 and praised for “set-pieces [that] get bigger and better as proceedings progress, building towards a battle between hero and villain that absolutely delivers.”

The Hollywood Reporter confirms that brothers Joe and Anthony Russo, famous for directing Marvel’s biggest blockbusters — including Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame — have joined as executive producers through their AGBO banner, boosting the project with their track record in action filmmaking. Helander’s film enters early production in Thailand early next year, with a screenplay by Rory Haines and Sohrab Noshirvani, writers on Black Adam.

Noah Centineo, fresh off his lead role in Netflix’s The Recruit, is in final talks to play a young John Rambo. Stallone, who has starred in each Rambo film since 1982 and co-wrote all the scripts, won’t be involved this time, though he once considered portraying young Rambo himself using AI technology — an idea that never came to pass. Stallone, no 80 years old, recently acknowledged the challenge Centineo faces, telling Entertainment Tonight, “I don’t know much about the young man, but it’s going to be quite a challenge… I think it could be fantastic, I really do, if they hit all the marks. I always thought of Rambo as very, highly popular. He was captain of the football team; he was getting straight A’s. I mean, he was just that kind of guy, valedictorian. And then the war broke him down and turned him into this havoc machine, suffering from PTSD. I wanted to see that evolution of, ‘I can’t wait to go to war. This is going to be fun. This’ll be over in three weeks.’”

Stallone helped produce a prequel story for John Rambo already with the graphic novel “First Kill” written by former Batman scribe Chuck Dixon. This film will not be based on that story however.

“AGBO’s entire team, led by Anthony and Joe Russo, are creative innovators who are delivering the most emotionally satisfying and inventive action-led storytelling in theaters around the world today,” said Charlotte Koh, Lionsgate’s executive VP of acquisitions and co-productions, highlighting the studio’s confidence in the production team’s vision.

The upcoming film will explore Rambo’s formative experiences during the Vietnam War, long before he became the iconic, battle-hardened figure introduced in 1982’s First Blood. Helander promises a slightly lighter tone compared to the last two movies — 2008’s Rambo and 2019’s Last Blood — both of which plunged the character into brutal battles against mercenaries and cartels. These later entries, despite a rough critical reception, particularly for Last Blood which holds a 26% score on Rotten Tomatoes, still found favor with audiences, garnering an 81% approval rating.

Helander aims to bring Rambo back to his gritty roots with fresh storytelling. When speaking about his approach, he said, “It won’t be as dark as the last two Rambos.” The film intends to paint a picture of Rambo as a young man, confident and successful before war altered him completely, tracing the character’s emotional and psychological transformation through combat exposure and PTSD.

Despite the new creative team and fresh lead, the franchise’s heart was built by Stallone, who made Rambo his own over the course of five films, shaping one of cinema’s enduring action heroes. Attempts to continue without his involvement automatically beg the question of whether any Rambo project without Stallone’s involvement can succeed. His own cautious optimism reflects this challenge, but speaking to ET he said the new film can deliver “if they hit all the marks,” and it might even carve a new path for the character.

Filming is scheduled to begin in January, with pre-production underway in Bangkok. If the schedule stays on track, audiences can expect to see the next chapter of Rambo’s story sooner rather than later, finally giving the character’s origin the screen time fans have been curious about. But without Stallone, will they be willing to go to cinemas to see it? Most remain skeptical.

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