The fifth installment to the iconic action franchise “Rambo” has been officially announced by Sylvester Stallone on his Twitter account on December 28, 2014.
Unfortunately, since the announcement, “Rambo 5” has been in gestation with hardly any progress in its pre-production except for rumors regarding its possible plotlines.
Sometime in July, reports came out that “Rambo 5” might focus on the ISIS terrorist issue because it was timely and relevant.
In 1982’s “First Blood,” John Rambo is bullied by a police force under the authority of small-town Washington state sheriff, played by Brian Dennehy. In 1985’s “Rambo: First Blood Part II,” he was sprung from jail by his former team leader, played by the late Richard Crenna, to lead an insurgency into Vietnam to rescue American POWs.
In “Rambo III” shown in 1989, he teamed up with the Afghan mujahideen to fight against Russian occupiers. It would be 19 years before John Rambo returned to the screen in the struggle simply titled as “Rambo” in 2008, in which the soldier, now living as a hermit in Thailand, makes an incursion into Burma to rescue American missionaries, details the Washington Times.
But Sylvester Stallone, in an interview a few months ago, said that the ISIS plot will not figure into the fifth and likely final film in the franchise, tentatively titled “Rambo: Last Blood.”
Reports have it that instead of battling the terrorist army in Iraq and Syria, John Rambo will rescue his daughter from the hands of Mexican drug lords in “Rambo 5.”
A busy action star
Despite already being 69 years old, Sylvester Stallone is still a busy action star. Last year, he had two movies – “The Expendables 3” and “Escape Plan.” Interestingly, in both films, he shared credits with fellow veteran action star Arnold Schwarzenegger.
This year, he co-starred with Michael B. Jordan for the “Rocky” spinoff movie “Creed” that was shown last month. Stallone was so good with his acting in the movie that he actually earned a nomination for Best Supporting Actor in the upcoming Golden Globes. The actor is likely to get the same citation from the Oscars in the next few weeks, critics say.
Incidentally, when Stallone made his tweet about “Rambo 5” late last year, he also mentioned about another film project after “Rambo: Last Blood.” He disclosed that he will also be filming a gangster biopic of Gregory or Greg “the Grim Reaper” Scarpa after completing shooting for the fifth Rambo movie.
What Sly did not mention is that he will be working on “The Expendables 4” which was already confirmed a few months ago and already has a 2017 target playdate.
Given his hectic schedule, it is likely that Stallone could start focusing on the “Rambo 5” production after he completes filming “The Expendables 4,” which is likely to start early next year.
However, all these timelines remain as speculation until Stallone publicly comes out to either confirm or deny it.
Changing his tune
Except for himself as the lead actor, the writer, and director, Stallone has not yet made any other announcement as regards the cast of the upcoming “Rambo: Last Blood.”
In terms of storyline, it is expected that the movie will be patterned after the first four Rambo movies. John Rambo or his friend getting the raw end of an abusive authority that would eventually force the Vietnam vet to fight back.
In an interview early this year following his announcement about “Rambo 5,” Stallone was quoted as saying that he was getting ready for the movie and that he already started working out.