Sylvester Stallone Says This Tommy Lee Jones Movie Is the “Real” Rambo

After the success of Rocky, First Blood gave Sylvester Stallone another iconic vehicle to call his own. It kickstarted the Rambo franchise, but if we’re being honest here, no other entry matched the intensity and originality of the first film. Looking back on the 1982 action classic, Stallone revealed that 2003’s The Hunted plays out how First Blood was written before he stepped in to change it up.

Written by David Griffiths, Peter Griffiths, and Art Monterastelli, and directed by William Friedkin, The Hunted sees survivalist instructor L.T. Bonham (Tommy Lee Jones) brought in to apprehend former student and special forces operative Aaron Hallam (Benicio del Toro), who has gone rogue. It’s easy to see the Rambo comparisons here, and many reviewers said the same thing at the time, using it as either a compliment or criticism of the movie.

Speaking to GQ about his time playing Rambo, Stallone revealed more about the original version of First Blood. “The original script is Rambo was a homicidal maniac with PTSD,” Stallone said. “He’s killed children, he killed fishermen, he was unmanageable, and then eventually had to be put to death by [Colonel] Trautman. This is not a very uplifting movie.”

Stallone brought up The Hunted as being the film more in line with First Blood. “I think they eventually remade it with a name change called The Hunted, with Tommy Lee Jones and Benicio del Toro, and that was more like the real Rambo and they had to kill each other. And it’s like a pretty bad outcome on that,” he said.

It’s never been confirmed that The Hunted was inspired by David Morrell’s First Blood novel or a remake of the Stallone movie. In fact, it had more in common with the real-life story of survivalist Tom Brown Jr., who had to track down a former student of his, much like how Bonham hunts Hallam. Having said that, it’s understandable why Stallone may have thought this to be true, since the Rambo comparisons overshadowed The Hunted upon its release.

Going back to First Blood, Stallone wanted a more hopeful story, suggesting that John Rambo wanted to stop the violence, but he was pushed to fight back because of Sheriff Will Teasle’s (Brian Dennehy) actions. The star also revealed a cut sequence that he believed would have added another layer to Sheriff Teasle’s character. 

“They cut one thing out of the screenplay [that] I thought was a big mistake,” Stallone said. “The reason he hated Rambo so much, ’cause he had fought in the Korean War, and no one even thinks of the 35,000 people that died in the Korean War, almost as much as Vietnam. And Vietnam was getting all this sympathy – but it wasn’t, it was getting a lot of wrath and ridicule. So both of ’em had these complexes, but the sheriff was gonna fight his own war, the Korean War, against Rambo.”

The GQ video sees Stallone provide a lot of insight on Rambo and the various other characters he’s played in the past, so it’s recommended that you check it out. With the John Rambo prequel, starring Noah Centineo as the eponymous character, coming up, it’ll be interesting to hear what Sly thinks about it once it’s out in the world.

The John Rambo prequel starring Noah Centineo arrives on June 4, 2027. Stallone serves as an executive producer on the film.

The Hunted is currently streaming on Paramount+, and is also available to watch for free on Tubi.