, the upcoming action thriller will focus on the origins of John Rambo and be set years before the events of Sylvester Stallone's First Blood.){kind=link}
Noah Centineo‘s Rambo prequel film has begun production in Bangkok, Thailand. Directed by Jalmari Helander (Sisu), the upcoming action thriller will focus on the origins of John Rambo and be set years before the events of Sylvester Stallone‘s First Blood.
Lionsgate recently announced that the upcoming prequel film also stars Yao (Sinners), Jefferson White (Yellowstone), Quincy Isaiah (Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty), Jason Tobin (Warrior), and Tayme Thapthimthong (The White Lotus).
From a screenplay co-written by Rory Haines and Sohrab Noshirvani, the upcoming film is produced by Millennium Media, Templeton Media and AGBO, and it will be distributed by Lionsgate.
In a statement, Helander said, “When I was 11, I saw First Blood for the first time, and it changed my life.” He also added that “Rambo wasn’t just a film to me — it stayed with me growing up and was a defining influence on why I wanted to become a filmmaker. As we begin production on the origin of John Rambo, we’re going back to the beginning. This is Rambo stripped down, raw and real — a survival story about endurance, persistence and lost innocence. It’s an honor to shape this next chapter with deep respect for the character and the legacy, and to bring audiences the start of John Rambo’s journey.”
Lionsgate Motion Picture Group president Erin Westerman also added to the statement, saying that “we’re thrilled to start production on John Rambo, which will allow both new audiences and existing fans to explore John Rambo’s roots, his principles, and most importantly, some incredible action, courtesy of Jalmari’s singular vision. And we’re so excited for Noah’s committed and powerful performance to show what forged this character into legend.”
Noah Centineo’s Other Projects
Centineo’s recent projects include the A24 film Warfare and the second season of Netflix’s spy series The Recruit. Centineo’s upcoming films include indie drama Union County, a film adaptation of Street Fighter, a Will Smith-produced thriller titled Listen, and a live-action Gundam film in which he will be starring opposite Sydney Sweeney.
How have the ‘Rambo’ Films Fared at the Box Office?
As of now, there have been five Rambo films, with the last being released in 2019. The franchise started with the 1982 film First Blood, which was extremely successful, making $125.2 million on a budget of $15-$18 million upon its release. The second Rambo film is titled Rambo: First Blood Part II and was released in 1985. With a nearly double budget than its last film, it made more than $300 million.
While the first two Rambo films were successful beyond imagination, from the franchise’s third film, profits began to shrink, as the 1988 film made only $189 million on a budget of nearly $60 million.
After a nearly 20-year hiatus, John Rambo returned to the big screen in the 2008 film simply titled Rambo. It grossed more than $113 million on a $50 million budget. The last Rambo film was titled Rambo: Last Blood and released in 2019. It had the worst box-office performance of any previous Rambo film, as it was the only one that couldn’t crack $100 million.
Now, let’s wait and see how Centineo’s upcoming prequel fares at the box office.