Rambo is about to reload with a reboot.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Nu Image/Millennium Films is about to bring fresh blood into the blockbuster franchise that starred Sylvester Stallone as the Vietnam veteran full-blooded combat soldier/human war machine. The reboot would be entitled “Rambo: New Blood,” but Sly won’t be reprising the role, as the reboot will be casting a younger actor playing super-soldier Rambo – with a bit of super-spy James Bond in him. Nu Image/Millennium has brought Brooks McLaren on board to write the script with Ariel Vromen (Criminal) in the director’s chair.
The character of John Rambo is based on author David Morrell’s 1972 novel First Blood, which was adapted onto the big screen a decade later in 1982 with Sly drawing first blood against small-town sheriffs and the National Guard. The success of “First Blood” led to 1985’s “Rambo, First Blood: Part 2” with Sly becoming a one-man rescue party for men who’ve been prisoners of war since Vietnam. The sequel defined Rambo as the action hero archetype of the 1980s: making way for many such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Chuck Norris (remember “Missing in Action”?), Jean-Claude Van Damme, Steven Seagal, Dolph Lundgren, and Bruce Willis. Part 2 was then followed by 1988’s “Rambo III” and 2008’s “Rambo,” where the character finally came full circle. In other words, live for nothing … or die for something, which includes wanting America – and the world – to love, honor, and respect Rambo as much Rambo love, honor, and respect America.
Sadly, Rambo has always been considered ‘expendable’, which will soon be the name of another successful Stallone franchise entitled “The Expendables” with Sly as Barney Ross, the leader of middle-aged mercenaries who doesn’t care what the job is – as long as the money’s real, and as long as the job’s real.
“Rambo: New Blood” is still in the early development stages.