According to The Hollywood Reporter, Nu Image/Millennium Films is looking to reboot the Rambo franchise without the franchises star, Sylvester Stallone’s, involvement. Unlike the most recent film in the series, 2008’s Rambo, the character will be a young man again. The studio is going to be treating the franchise like James Bond, with new actors taking over the role. In the film, tentatively called Rambo: New Blood, the character’s backstory will be updated as well, making him an Afghanistan or Iraq veteran, as opposed to a Vietnam vet, as he was in the original First Blood, and the original novel.
Before anyone gets upset that Stallone is getting the boot, he’s gone on record saying that he’s done with the character, stating earlier this year “The heart’s willing, but the body says, ‘Stay home!” The original First Blood was a social commentary on the treatment of Vietnam vets upon their return home, while Rambo: First Blood Part II and Rambo III were basically gratuitous action films. Rambo’s story was a bit more poignant and gritty, concentrating on the character’s age. The franchise also spawned a pretty terrible Nintendo game (you can watch the Angry Video Game Nerd’s very funny review of it below), as well as an ill-advised syndicated cartoon titled Rambo: The Force of Freedom (intro below), which managed to run for sixty five episodes (!).