Sylvester Stallone isn’t done with Rambo just yet. Ten years after last playing the character, Sly will return to the franchise for the fifth time in 2019 with Rambo V: Last Blood.
Like Rocky Balboa—who he played again in 2018’s Creed II—Stallone turned John Rambo into a cultural icon throughout the course of four films, including First Blood (1982), Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985), Rambo III (1988), and Rambo (2008). As an elite U.S. Army Special Forces soldier, Stallone’s Rambo is an expert in hand-to-hand combat, has top-notch survival skills, and is an all-around badass.
Rambo is so popular around the world that he’s even getting the Bollywood treatment. Luckily, Stallone was in shape for Creed II, so he was already ahead of schedule by the time filming began for the new Rambo.
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The Film Gets a Title
It’s only fitting that the title of the final Rambo film pays homage to the first installment. Rambo 5: Last Blood signals an end to a saga that began with 1982’s First Blood.
In addition to the title of the movie, it appears Rambo’s big-ass knife will be getting its own name as well, The Heart-Stopper.
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Rambo Will Take on a Drug Cartel
In the new film, Rambo will be up against one tough opponent. Here’s the official plot, according to Deadline: “[W]hen the daughter of one of his friends is kidnapped, Rambo, who has been working on a ranch, crosses the U.S.-Mexican border and quickly finds himself up against the full might of one of Mexico’s most violent cartels.”
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Who’s the Cast, Other Than Sly
Stallone’s co-star will be Paz Vega (Carmen Delgado), who’s “a reporter who covers the Mexican drug trade and teams up with Rambo after her younger half-sister is kidnapped,” according to THR. The kidnapped daughter (Gabrielle) will be played by Yvette Monreal.
Sergio Peris-Mencheta will be playing the main villain Hugo Martinez, who’s a cartel worker on the loose who does the kidnaping. The Spanish actor is most known for portraying Gustavo “El Oso” Zapata in the FX crime drama, Snowfall. However he does have a laundry list of other Spanish productions under his belt.
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Stallone Worked on the Script—but He Didn’t Direct
When Deadline reported that Rambo 5 was officially in production, the site added that Stallone was “working” on the script. He wrote and directed the fourth Rambo film in 2008 and has plenty of experience putting together a screenplay. While the actor’s been behind the camera for Rambo before, Deadline reported that it “doesn’t seem to be the case” with this latest installment.
Ultimately, director Adrian Grunberg was chosen for the upcoming film. He may be a bit of an unknown for the casual moviegoer, but he definitely has a laundry list of impressive credits on his record. Grunberg was the second-unit director for Apocalypto, Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, and a total of 22 episodes in the Narcos and Narcos: Mexico Netflix series.
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Stallone Got ‘Rambo’-Level Strong
Although it’s hard to beat the bulk-up he did for Rambo III back in the day, the 72-year-old actor is still looking absolutely shredded. Stallone worked with trainer Gunnar Peterson to get ready for the movie, and he’s taken to Instagram to show off his chiseled physique. Just take a look below to see Stallone flexing his fitness and physique leading up to the filming of the moive.
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Behind the Scenes Footage
To this point no official footage has been released, but occasionally Stallone has slipped us some videos of the filming process on his Instagram. In the clip above we see Rambo crafting a pitchfork, sharpening a knife, letting off some ammo, and shooting bow and arrow.
In another clip below, we see Stallone getting in some horse training for the film as well. The movie takes pace on ranch, and judging by the set photos it would appear that he’s going to be spending a decent amount of time up there during the film.
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Unofficial Set Photos
With Last blood not due out until fall, we haven’t seen a host of polished images from the filming process to this point. However, Sly has been spoon feeding us batches of images with captions that add a little bit of context.
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Sylvester Stallone Was the 11th Choice to Play John Rambo
It’s hard to imagine anyone else but Stallone as John Rambo, but apparently that’s what almost happened, 11 times. Following wrap on Last Blood, Sly took a moment to reflect on a now iconic franchise that was perceived as a doomed project spiraling toward failure. Five movies later, and Rambo is another iconic character that helped build Stallone into a household name.
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Official Release Date
Rambo 5: Last Blood will be hitting theaters September 20.
