The Rambo Prequel Movie Has Found Its Leading Man (And This Is A Terrible Idea)

Those reports of a "Rambo" prequel in the works have turned out to be true, and we now know the likely candidate to play a younger version of Sylvester Stallone's eternally shirtless action hero — former (and current?) heartthrob Noah Centineo. As reported by Deadline, Centineo, who leapt to stardom after starring in the Netflix teen romance flick "To All the Boys I've Loved Before," will play a young version of Rambo, the character who Stallone first played on screen in 1982's "First Blood" and most recently showed up — still played by Stallone — in 2019's "Rambo: Last Blood."

In addition to the casting news, the Deadline report has revealed some of the names working behind the camera on the project, tentatively dubbed "John Rambo," because we're apparently still stuck in the age of "just name it after the main character from the IP." Finnish filmmaker Jalmari Helander, who is most famous internationally for his 2022 World War II thriller "Sisu" and its upcoming sequel, will direct. The script is being written by Rory Haines and Sohrab Noshirvani, who previously penned the script for DC's "Black Adam."

Since no Hollywood brand that was ever successful is allowed to die anymore, replacing an aging Stallone with a new face was probably inevitable. And don't get me wrong: Centineo is a sharp young actor with the right talent, size, and look to pull the role off. The bigger question is whether the entire film is a good idea or yet another misguided enterprise trying to mine any lingering value from a long-vacant franchise. If nothing else, the "Rambo" property's recent track record at the box office doesn't exactly bode well.

If you know anything about the character of John Rambo, you know that any "origin story" for him, as the new Lionsgate project is being described, can only be one thing: a Vietnam War movie (assuming his backstory isn't modernized, à la "Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit"). There was a time when such a thing was common, and you can absolutely make a shrewd film about that particular conflict today, but a franchise that's most famous for glorifying military violence may not be the strongest venue for it.

The politics of the "Rambo" movies have always been messy, but the first entry still holds up pretty well. Set in the U.S. in the wake of the Vietnam War, "First Blood" pits Rambo against a squad of brutal police officers in a small town determined to run the "drifter" out. Of course, they get more than they bargained for. While not explicitly critical of the U.S.' invasion of Vietnam, it's easily read as an anti-war film, if one that focuses more on the tragedy of the American soldier than the massive damage dealt to the Vietnamese people. "Rambo: First Blood Part II," on the other hand, tries to keep a level of distance and critique but largely embraces a type of American military revenge fantasy, while "Rambo III" opens up a whole other can of worms, with an original in-film dedication "to the brave Mujahideen fighters of Afghanistan."

We don't have time to dissect that one today.

The most recent pair of "Rambo" movies have eschewed most of the original film's literary quality in exchange for hyper-violent power fantasy, which begs the question: What sort of tone does Noah Centineo's prequel intend to adopt when it comes to Vietnam (or whatever conflict it ends up focusing on)?

Most Western moviegoers won't be familiar with director Jalmari Helander, but he's a perfect choice for a modern-day "Rambo" movie. His 2022 film "Sisu" could accurately be described as "Finnish 'Rambo' in World War II," as it follows a highly skilled veteran of the Winter War in a showdown against a group fo Nazi soldiers.

The film put Helander on the global map and currently holds a 94% critical score on Rotten Tomatoes. In other words, he's an ideal director to take on "Rambo," as he's already made what's arguably one of the best "Rambo"-esque films in decades. Combined with an ascendant star in Centineo, there's definite potential.

The problem, again, is whether or not "Rambo" as a story can actually work in the modern day. Public perspectives on the Vietnam War, and military imperialism writ large, thankfully aren't what they were during the Reagan administration, though certain aspects of global politics these days could be pushing those sentiments backward. It's easy to make the hyper-violent military commando work when the people he's fighting are SS officers. It's harder when the story has much, much more political complexity.

2008's "Rambo" grossed $113 million worldwide on a $47 million production budget. "Rambo: Last Blood" cost $3 million more and only made $91 million. "Diminshing returns" would be the relevant phrase here. We'll see if the star power of Noah Centineo is enough to lift the franchise out of the B-movie dregs.