Noah Centineo Starring in ‘John Rambo’

‘The Recruit’s Noah Centineo to Take the Lead in Prequel ‘John Rambo’

‘Sisu’ director Jalmari Helander is aboard to make the new film, which would explore Rambo’s years in Vietnam and look to explore his early missions.

(Left) Noah Centineo stars in 'The Recruit.' (Right) Sylvester Stallone in 'First Blood'. Photo: Orion Pictures.

Preview:

Noah Centineo has landed the lead in ‘John Rambo’.
He’ll play the character made famous by Sylvester Stallone.
Jalmari Helander is directing.

You might recall that back in May, word arrived that Millennium Media was looking to turn back the clock on the story of John Rambo –– the troubled action character famously played by Sylvester Stallone –– for a new prequel pic called ‘John Rambo’.

According to Deadline, Noah Centineo, who has been seen in the likes of Netflix’s ‘The Recruit’, has now landed the role of the younger Rambo in the new movie.

As for Stallone? The trade site reports that he’s aware of the new development, and Centineo’s attachment, but hasn’t yet decided to be involved in any capacity.

What we do know is that Jalmari Helander, who made 2022’s action thriller ‘Sisu’, will be handling the movie, with a shoot set to kick off early next year in Thailand.

What’s the story of the ‘Rambo’ movies?

Sylvester Stallone in 'First Blood'. Photo: Orion Pictures.

It’s worth remembering here that the character didn’t originate on the screen; Rambo was created by David Morell in his 1972 novel ‘First Blood.’

The 1982 adaptation featured a script by Michael Kozoll, William Sackheim and Stallone, with Ted Kotcheff in the director’s chair, calling the shots (and explosions).

Stallone starred as 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.

It was a gritty, stripped-down and smaller-scale entry compared to what the franchise evolved into with 1985’s ‘Rambo: First Blood Part II’ which blew things up into a much more blockbuster action level.

That one saw Rambo returning to the jungles of Vietnam on a mission to infiltrate an enemy base-camp and rescue the American POWs still held captive there.

The five movies in the franchise have generated more than $800 million worldwide. The most recent update, 2019’s ‘Rambo: Last Blood,’ produced by Millennium and Stallone’s Balboa company, made $92 million at the box office.

As for the plot of the new one? It’ll focus on Rambo’s Vietnam days, but the specific story isn’t yet known beyond the team developing it, which includes ‘Black Adam’ writers Rory Haines and Sohrab Noshirvani.

And Centineo? His pertinent recent experience would be this year’s based-on-truth ‘Warfare’ co-directed by Alex Garland and Ray Mendoza, which chronicled a traumatic battle for Navy SEALS in Iraq.

When will ‘John Rambo’ be on screens?

The movie hasn’t yet landed a distributor, but Deadline’s report mentions that Lionsgate is he front-runner, having released the most recent two Rambo pics and worked with Helander on ‘Sisu’.