Stallone says a Rambo prequel done via streaming is the only option

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

The one thing I've learned since following Sylvester Stallone on Instagram is that he's the king of dropping little nuggets that can get his fans hyped. Whether it's news about the director's cut of ROCKY IV or giving us status updates on his upcoming films like SAMARITAN, Stallone is his very own hype machine. The actor was at it again on his Instagram page but this tidbit about a RAMBO prequel could've easily been missed if not for some eagle eyes looking into the comments section.

On the post where Stallone expressed his gratitude for being a part of James Gunn's THE SUICIDE SQUAD, a fan left a comment asking about a new RAMBO film. Stallone actually responded to the fan's question and seemed to definitively say "Only as a streaming prequel or not at all." You can check out a screengrab of the exchange below:

So does this mean that there have been some talks about a RAMBO prequel and, if so, is Stallone only considering it as a streaming project? Considering how things are with movie theaters and moviegoing due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it would make sense that this would be the most feasible option to get another film out there and could make a killing considering Stallone is his own very best marketing push. 

The last film of the franchise was RAMBO: LAST BLOOD, released in 2019. The film wasn't met with the best critical reception but it did pull in $91.5 million worldwide on a $50 million budget. Stallone made it clear on at least one occasion that the "Last" in LAST BLOOD didn't necessarily mean we had seen the last of John Rambo but the actor did first indicate in 2019 that he would like to do a prequel film that would go back and show the person that Rambo was before Vietnam made him the man we know:

I always thought of Rambo when he was 16 or 17 – I hope they can do the prequel – he was the best person you could find. He was the captain of the team; he was the most popular kid in school; super athlete. He was like Jim Thorpe, and the war is what changed him. If you saw him before, he was like the perfect guy.

Of course, a prequel would mean some serious de-aging special effects for Stallone or they would go with a younger actor to fill Stallone's shoes to make the prequel happen. Given the answer that he gave in the comments about the possibility of another RAMBO film, it seemed like a prequel is the only thing he's considering a direct sequel may very well not be in the cards.

In the meantime, Stallone is busy overseeing the director's cut of ROCKY IV which fans seem pretty excited about and he just wrapped on his latest film SAMARITAN just last week. SAMARITAN was slated for release this year but filming went dark due to the pandemic back in March and filming didn't resume until October. This prompted a new release date of June 4, 2021, for the film.

Would YOU like to see a prequel to RAMBO?