Sylvester Stallone had a plan for Rambo that sounded straight out of a sci-fi pitch meeting. He wanted to take the legendary John Rambo back to Vietnam. But not in the way you’re thinking. See, Stallone’s idea was to use AI to de-age himself and play an 18-year-old Rambo. Just let that sink in for a moment.
Stallone, who has played the character for years, envisioned a prequel where the character you know as a battle-hardened soldier started as a valedictorian, prom king, and all-around nice guy. Then Vietnam happens, friends die, he’s tortured, and the life he knew shatters. “That’s how I became the way I became, but originally I was bon vivant—that kind of thing,” Stallone said. And, of course, he wanted AI to make it happen.
Everyone around him thought he’d lost it. “Everyone thought I was crazy,” Stallone admitted in interviews with The Playlist and Screen Rant. But he argued AI could convincingly show Rambo roaming Saigon as a teenager, creating the bridge from innocent kid to hardened soldier. Stallone called it rewriting history. The idea never made it past the pitch stage, of course. And he admits procrastination cost him the project. The new prequel, now titled John Rambo, has Noah Centineo stepping into the role, with Sisu director Jalmari Helander at the helm.
Centineo’s casting comes with a challenge: filling shoes Stallone himself has worn for over 40 years. “It’s very, very hard. He may do a stellar job, but you’re overcoming this because I went through it with Get Carter. Everyone loves the original, and then you’re always fighting that prejudice,” Stallone explained. Fans will inevitably compare, but the prequel aims to focus on Rambo’s time with the Green Berets in Vietnam, a clear lead-in to the 1982 classic First Blood. Filming is projected to start next year in Thailand.
Stallone’s AI project wasn’t the first time he’s faced being pushed out of his own franchises. Rocky, Cliffhanger, and now Rambo have all continued without him. He’s taking it in stride. About Peter Farrely’s I Play Rocky origin story, Stallone was blunt: “I was shocked to read [about it]. I have zero to do with it.” And while the Rambo prequel isn’t his vision anymore, he wishes the team luck: “I hope, you know, good luck.”
Despite the shifts in control, Stallone is far from slowing down. He’s starring in Tulsa King, which is now in its third season, and he’s still imagining stories for his iconic characters. Back in 2019, he talked about returning to a Native American reservation setting for a future Rambo film, and in 2024 he mentioned Ryan Gosling as a potential next Rambo. He’s thinking ahead, even if technology and timing keep taking the reins from him.
Sadly, it’s now very clear that Stallone knows that he’s far too old to play the characters he made famous. But com’on Rocky, AI is not the way to go here.
