‘Rambo’ Prequel From ‘Sisu’ Director Casts Noah Centineo

Apparently, no IP is ever truly dead in Hollywood, action franchise factory Millennium Media — the same folks behind “The Expendables,” “Hitman’s Bodyguard,” and the never-ending ‘Has Fallen’ series — are bringing John Rambo back.

The good news is that directing duties have been given to Jalmari Helander, which at least promises some R-rated mayhem. Helander did an outstanding job directing his 2023 WWII action film “Sisu, which featured stylized kills and a dark sense of humor. He’s already completed filming “Sisu 2,” scheduled for release this fall.

Deadline now reports that Noah Centineo is circling the starring role in the next John Rambo film. The screenplay is penned by writing duo Rory Haines and Sohrab Noshirvani (”Black Adam”).

Insiders say the package is generally moving in the right direction, with a tentative shoot planned for this fall in Thailand. While no deals are officially inked, Lionsgate is the leading contender to acquire the project. That makes sense given Lionsgate’s history with the last two Rambo installments, plus their established working relationship with Helander from “Sisu.”

Meanwhile, Rambo himself, Sylvester Stallone, is not involved on this reboot, which will serve as the origin story of the character, set during the Vietnam War.

For Centineo, this marks a potential career-boosting role. After breakout success with Netflix’s “To All the Boys I Loved Before” and “The Recruit,” he’s also gearing up to play Ken Masters in that silly ‘Street Fighter’ adaptation, with a 2026 release date set. Most recently, Centineo was seen in A24’s “Warfare” from Ray Mendoza and Alex Garland.

“John Rambo” would be the sixth film in the franchise, which has generated over $800M worldwide; the most recent instalment, 2019’s “Rambo: Last Blood,” grossed $92M at the box office.