Earlier this year, we learned that aRamboprequelwas in development, and now Millennium Media has found its leading man.Noah Centineo, of Netflix’sThe Recruit, is set to star as John Rambo in the upcoming film. The movie, which will be titledJohn Rambo, will center around Rambo’s time fighting in the Vietnam War before the events of 1982’sFirst Bloodand the high-octane action franchise that sprung from it.
According to reports,Sylvester Stallone, who portrayed the ex-Green Beret in five big-screen actioners, is aware of the project and Centineo’s involvement in it, but is not involved with the film. Centineo, who broke out as a teen star onAustin & AllyandThe Fosters, has proved his combat bonafides in recent years. He stars as CIA lawyer Owen Hendricks inThe Recruit, which was recently cancelled after two seasons on Netflix, and played a Navy SEAL gunner in the Iraq War filmWarfareearlier this year. Next up, he’s starring in the dramedyOur Hero, Balthazar, which he also executive produced, and playing martial artist Ken Masters in the video game adaptationStreet Fighter.
Who Is John Rambo?
Created byDavid Morrellin the 1972 novelFirst Blood, John Rambo joined the Army out of high school and was eventually recruited into the special forces unit the Green Berets, where he served under Colonel Sam Trautman (Richard Crenna). Returning to the States after the war, Rambo became a drifter; when he was accosted by the local police in Hope, Washington, Rambo went berserk, resulting in an extensive manhunt. Eventually talked down by Trautman, he was sent to jail. The success ofFirst Bloodled to a series of increasingly action-heavy sequels, in contrast to thelow-key, downbeat original; Rambo was sent back to Vietnam to rescue prisoners of war, to Afghanistan to aid the locals against invading Soviets, and to Burma to recover captured missionaries. The character even starred in an animated cartoon series,Rambo: The Force of Freedom, in which he led aG.I. Joe-style organization that battled the forces of evil. Stallone portrayed the character for the final time (for now, at least) in 2019’sRambo: Last Blood, which saw Rambo rescuing his niece from a Mexican cartel.
John Rambowill be helmed by Finnish directorJalmari Helander(Rare Exports,Sisu). It will be written byRory HainesandSohrab Noshirvani(The Mauritanian); the duo previously wrote the DC superhero filmBlack Adam, which co-starred Centineo as Atom Smasher. It will be produced byKevin King-Templetonfor Templeton Media,Les Weldon,Jonathan Yunger, andAvi Lerner, and executive produced byTrevor Shortand Bonfire Legends’Dallas SonnierandAmanda Presmyk.
John Ramboisin development. Stay tuned to Collider for future updates.
First Blood
