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I can almost hear the toxicity and hate oozing from this article as I write it but it would appear that the Millennium Films’ Rambo prequel is rolling full steam ahead. With past word that Sisu helmer Jalmari Helander is ready to direct, the powers that be have seemed to found the man who will play a younger John J. Rambo. Get your pitchforks and torches ready fans of action as the role has been given to Noah Centineo who rose to prominence with Netflix’s To All the Boys I Loved Before and The Recruit. Ironically Centineo was attached to play He-Man at one time before that project morphed into what we are seeing today. Centineo actually is showing off his military chops starring in Warfare which recently just hit home video and streaming so there is that.
According to Deadline, 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.
Coincidentally, Stallone is not involved in the project, at least as of yet, but he does know of Centineo winning the role. The article also states that the prequel has a few more hurdles to over come but it looks like things are headed the right way. Whether Sly gets involved later remains to be seen. The movie hopes to shoot for a early 2026 production in Thailand. Lionsgate, who put out the last two Rambo films remains a front-runner to acquire the hot package. They also worked with Helander on Sisu.
Kevin King-Templeton is producing via his Templeton Media with Les Weldon, Jonathan Yunger and Avi Lerner. Executive producers on the film include Trevor Short and Bonfire Legends’ Dallas Sonnier and Amanda Presmyk.
I’m a Rambo fan who has been there from the beginning. I saw First Blood in theaters on opening weekend and have since watched them all on the big screen and countless times at home throughout the decades. I know there will be a lot of hate for this but alas I’m sticking to my motto of needing to see footage before I make a sound judgment.
Do we need this? Of course not, but it is happening and I have faith in Helander to deliver a bloody and brutal product just like his new cult classic Sisu which was a master class in brutal and unflinching action. Plus if there’s any young actor who could pull this off, it’s Centineo. He’s a solid next gen actor and was sensational in Warfare.
Lock N Load for more to follow. It’s gonna be interesting.
