Sylvester Stallone wanted to use AI to de-age himself for a prequel about an 18-year-old Rambo
Stallone has no involvement in the previously reported origin story starring Noah Centineo.
Last month, it was confirmed that a new John Rambo origin story movie was in the works – which will be the first film in the popular franchise not to star Sylvester Stallone in the lead role.
But it turns out that Stallone himself had previously pitched his own take on a prequel, one that would have seen the star using AI to de-age him back to a teenager to take on his legendary role.
“Everyone thought I was crazy,” he explained during an appearance on The Playlist’s Bingeworthy podcast. “AI is sophisticated enough to go through Saigon to see him at 18 years old and basically use the same image. So it isn’t as big a stretch.”
In the end, it is To All the Boys I've Loved Before star Noah Centineo who is currently attached to play the Vietnam war veteran in the film, which will be directed by Finnish filmmaker Jalmari Helander and is expected to shoot in Thailand in early 2026.
And Stallone – who is not involved in the production – reckons it won't be easy for the actor to slot into the role.
"It’s very, very hard," he said. "He may do a stellar job, but you’re overcoming this because I went through it with Get Carter [the 2000 remake of the iconic Michael Caine film]. Everyone loves the original, and then you’re always fighting that prejudice."
Not many plot details have been reported about the upcoming film, although we do know that it will follow the character during his days in Vietnam – and it seems likely we can expect more of the high-octane action the franchise has always delivered.
In total it will be the sixth entry in the series and the first since Rambo: Last Blood, which was released to largely negative reviews in 2019.
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Authors
Patrick Cremona is the Senior Film Writer at Radio Times, and looks after all the latest film releases both in cinemas and on streaming. He has been with the website since October 2019, and in that time has interviewed a host of big name stars and reviewed a diverse range of movies.
