He might be able to pull it off looks wise, but I have no interest seeing anyone other than Stallone play this role 40 years after the original. We do not need a prequel.
Posted on 08/14/2025 10:51:36 AM PDT by nickcarraway
Actor Noah Centineo has been tapped to portray a young John Rambo in an upcoming prequel to the iconic action series. The project, titled John Rambo, will explore the character’s earlier years, with production expected to begin later this year in Thailand.
While the role was immortalized by Sylvester Stallone—whose portrayal defined the character and left an enduring mark on a generation of action fans—this new installment will tackle the question: can Rambo resonate without the actor who made him legendary?
Centineo, 29, first gained recognition on the Disney Channel show “Austin & Ally” before rising to prominence in Netflix’s popular “To All the Boys” romantic comedy series.
Most recently, he played rookie CIA lawyer Owen Hendricks in the spy drama “The Recruit”, which premiered in 2022. The series ended after two seasons earlier this year.
Centineo discusses “The Recruit’s” end and his next steps Speaking at the Los Angeles premiere of his film “Warfare,” Centineo addressed the show’s cancellation. He said Netflix had its own programming goals to meet and that the series no longer aligned with those needs.
Grecian Delight supports Greece
While he acknowledged disappointment, he expressed pride in the project and gratitude to the audience, noting it had developed a dedicated fan base.
In “The Recruit,” Centineo’s character became entangled in a high-stakes international conflict, marking a shift from his earlier comedic roles. His work in “Warfare,” directed by Alex Garland, further expanded his range. In the film, he played a gunner in a realistic depiction of an actual battle during the Iraq War.
Stallone’s legacy and absence from the prequel
Stallone brought John Rambo to the screen in five films: First Blood (1982), Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985), Rambo III (1988), Rambo (2008), and Rambo: Last Blood (2019). Reports indicate the veteran actor is not involved in the upcoming production but has been informed about Centineo’s casting.
Stallone’s most recent appearance was in “Alarum,” an action-thriller about two married spies, played by Scott Eastwood and Willa Fitzgerald, who are suspected of going rogue. The film was panned by critics, earning a 0 percent score on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes — the lowest of Stallone’s career.
His previous low was the 2014 comedy-thriller “Reach Me”, which received 4 percent on. Other poorly rated films include the 2018 sequel “Escape Plan 2: Hades”, at a 7 percent rating, and the drama “Backtrace” the same year, with 9 percent.
Critical and audience reception of recent projects Audience response to “Alarum” was similarly poor, with a score of just 20 percent. Two other Stallone films have fared even worse with viewers: “Escape Plan: The Extractors” (2019) has a 22% favorable rating, and the previously mentioned “Hades” has a 7 rating.
Following the last U.S. presidential election, Stallone publicly voiced his support for Donald Trump, calling the president a mythical figure and describing his election victory as an achievement that no one else in the world could have accomplished.
Yes, now Rambo is explained by Midi-chlorians.
I was expecting a black chick.
I watched the first Star Wars movie 27 times in the theater. That number is so high because I often went in for the matinee and watched every showing the rest of the day.
I was like George McFly in the early 60’s and would rush home from school on Tuesdays and Thursdays to watch “science fiction theater”. I even saw the first Star Trek “sneak Preview”, “The Man Trap”.
I was sort of obsessed with Science fiction back then.
But anyway, just to say you are right. The only Sequel I really liked was “The Empire Strikes Back”. I used to call it “Star Wars for adults”.
And not to put too fine a point on it, Star Wars was not science fiction. It was really Space Fantasy.
But yeah, I liked the first Rambo. Then it got lame, except for a single line in a sequel: “Do we get to win this time?”
Waste of time and money...There is only one Rambo...Stallone
Just as there is only one Bond...Connery
As I age (I’m 71 now), I find that what makes movies and series’ high quality for me is good stories and good character development. That is not all that common, but often comes in “b side” movies that actually don’t cost much. I did like the first Reacher season. And the second wasn’t bad. The third was a bit lame.
I’ve learned that If I want to see a quality movie/show I’ll probably be best served by avoiding sequels.
I even noticed when watching the expanse that the full story really came to an end after three seasons, and then it just became an episodic TV show. I stopped watching with the killer bugs in the cave episode, a few into the fourth season. It lost its spark for me.
But the first few seasons were rather thought provoking.
Oh - he gained recognition for Austin and Ally? That gives him a ticket to prequel one of the best action films ever made?
He might be able to pull it off looks wise, but I have no interest seeing anyone other than Stallone play this role 40 years after the original. We do not need a prequel.
Withour Stallone..
They should just call it “Rando”
They have lots of new ideas. But they don’t like to green light them. They prefer to capitalize on existing IP. 90% chance this was rolling around Hollywood as a completely unrelated script, until it finally crossed the desk of somebody at the studio that owns Rambo and they said “hey if you change this and this and this you can make it a Rambo movie, and I’ll say yes”.
“What about Brian Dennehy?”
Sorry, the actor and the character are welded together since the beginning. You can’t remove one from the other. Same with Ethan Hunt and Tom Cruise. James Bond is a little different because no single actor consistently played Bond.
My husband and I have retreated to older movies, a lot of them British.
Netflix. I”m sure they will keep to the original timeline. Like when trannies and homosexuals were all the top brass and the bravest fighters in Viet Nam. Women were the ones digging latrines and hauling 100lb boxes of ammo up Hamburger Hill for the useless cowardly men as they ran down and took on entire division of VC with their karate skills. And the rainbow beret special forces had to rescue Rambo and his Green Berets from a malfunctioning dish washer.
The Expanse may be the only TV scifi show that dealt with orbital mechanics and travel time accurately. It was top notch even if it did flag a bit at the end. But the chick that played the Belter war chief, Drummond was an awesome character and worth the price of admission.
We don't need a prequel. We want to see the mature Rambo working with ICE.
Can the actor perform an 80 IQ personality convincingly? Wait. What am I saying? All actors do 80 IQs convincingly.
I LOVED Rambo 4. No holds barred truth in that movie. Both from Rambo and the mercenaries.
“You go sticking your nose around other peoples garbage you get F****d up.” - Lewis
John Rambo: “Are you bringing any weapons?”
Burnett: “Of course not.”
John Rambo: “You’re not changing anything.”
“God didn’t save your life! We did!” - Lewis
The only Bond was Sean Connery...The rest were only “wannabe’s”
Story idea : Bukele is kidnapped and being tortured. Rambo let loose in the jungles of Central America.
Connery was the best. But was Moore was ok too.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.