RAMBO Prequel Director Says We’ll Meet a Very “Different” John Rambo in His New Origin-Story Action Movie
Fans of the Rambo franchise are in for something fresh. Sisu director Jalmari Helander is diving into the early life of John Rambo for a new prequel film, and he’s promising a version of the future one-man army that we’ve never seen before.
If you’re expecting the hardened drifter from First Blood, Helander wants you to know this movie is starting from a very different emotional place.
In an interview with GamesRadar+, Helander explained exactly what that means.
"Of course, it's different, because we're gonna start in a place where everything is basically pretty okay for Rambo.
“He's happy and younger and all that, because we are telling the origin story. What would happen to him? Why did he become that kind of dude that we've all seen in First Blood? So it's different."
That shift in tone makes this prequel intriguing. Instead of jumping into the chaos and trauma that shaped the Rambo we know, Helander is aiming to show how the quiet young man eventually becomes the relentless warrior we meet in First Blood. It’s a chance to rebuild the character from the ground up.
The film stars Noah Centineo, marking a dramatic change of pace for the actor. Centineo’s casting was announced in August, and Helander officially joined the project in May.
The script comes from Black Adam writers Rory Haines and Sohrab Noshirvani, and while the movie takes place during the Vietnam War, original Rambo actor Sylvester Stallone is not involved in the project.
For longtime fans, the story’s foundations go all the way back to David Morrell’s novel First Blood, which inspired the 1982 film that launched the franchise.
Stallone’s portrayal of Rambo across five movies carved out the character as a haunted United States Army Special Forces veteran who channels his trauma into fierce, violent survival against corrupt cops, cartels, and anyone foolish enough to provoke him.
Helander’s involvement adds an exciting edge. His breakout film Sisu delivered wild, bloody, grindhouse-style action as it followed a relentless gold prospector carving through Nazis during the Lapland War.
His upcoming sequel, Sisu: Road to Revenge, jumps ahead two years and throws its returning hero into a showdown with the Red Army. The sequel hits theaters November 21, and if Helander brings even a fraction of that energy to this new Rambo project, audiences are in for something intense.
Helander clearly isn’t interested in recycling what fans already know. This time the story will explore the human being he used to be and showcasing the moments that forged him.