John Rambo Prequel Is Official, And The Director Alone Is Enough For Me To Know This Will Be Incredible

Over a decade after Sylvester Stallone fan-cast Ryan Gosling as a young version of his iconic action hero John Rambo, a more youthful version of the character is heading to the big screen. Reports on the prequel project first made waves in August, but now all parties have officially signed off on John Rambo with some huge names behind the scenes, and a director that I couldn't be more confident in.

Let's break down some of the biggest confirmations involved with what could potentially kick off a new era of Rambo action.

John Rambo Will Be Played By Noah Centineo

While actors can often drop out of high-profile projects between the first rumors and the official reveal, John Rambo is indeed sticking with Netflix star Noah Centineo to portray the hardcore soldier. He's reportedly in final negotiations.

I'd say The Recruit is the best example of the actor's work so far in relation to what he'll be doing for this new movie, which will likely drop well after the 2026 movie releases have dried up. But he was recently confirmed as part of the cast of the new Street Fighter movie as Ken, so that will bring him even more into the action-movie fold, further away from the To All The Boys franchise.

John Rambo Will Be Directed By Sisu Helmer Jalmari Helander

Anyone who hasn't yet watched the top-tier 2023 action movie Sisu should reverse that wrong as soon as you're done reading this story. It's an incredible movie that never loses sight of its genre, and the upcoming sequel is somehow even better. Check out that trailer below.

SISU 2: Road to Revenge Trailer (2025) - YouTube

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I'd make watching a Jalmari Helander-directed Charmin commercial a bigger priority than feeding myself if it existed, so the fact that he's making a Rambo movie is enough to cause me to break my neck trying to backflip in glee. And that wouldn't help anyone, so I'm just going to stay sitting here vibrating with glee instead.

The Russo Brothers' AGBO Is Now On Board

Anthony and Joe Russo are currently working on what will become some of the biggest movies of all time, Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, and both of those will likely be viewed as amazing action movies. So I love that they're also getting into the mix with John Rambo, even if they won't be as hands-on as they would if they were doing the directing. Maybe we'll see some MCU vets joining this prequel's cast.

AGBO will be partnering with Lionsgate, which only recently acquired the rights to the franchise, and Millennium Media for the upcoming movie.

Rory Haines And Sohrab Noshirvani Are Writing The Screenplay

The screenwriting duo of Rory Haines and Sohrab Noshirvani previously created the acclaimed UK drama Informer, and also co-wrote the screenplays for Kevin Macdonald's 2021 legal thriller The Mauritanian, and the maligned DC blockbuster Black Adam. Their previous action thriller script Fairytale in New York was set to be directed by the aforementioned Jalmari Helander, with Ke Huy Quan starring, though it seems likely that all things Rambo will usurp those plans.

For now, there's no specific timeline for when fans can expect to see John Rambo, but production is set to begin in January 2026.