Sylvester Stallone has said goodbye to the Rocky series. But with Rambo there is still a lot possible. We give you an overview of Rambo 6 and all other possible projects.
Sylvester Stallone’s career is based on two well-known film series: Rambo and Rocky. In the future we will probably only see him in one of the two series. Because he’s out of Rocky. In addition to his departure in Creed II, The dispute that rages behind the scenes with the owner of the trademark rights is responsible for this.
While there is no sign of Rocky in Creed III, Rambo’s future prospects look more promising. Three projects could expand the franchise in the future – with and without Sylvester Stallone. We’ll walk you through each option and give you an assessment of how likely they are.
Option 1: Rambo 6 sequel in theatres
Although Rambo: Last Blood could pass as the conclusion of the series (the title “Last Blood” closes the circle to the first part, which hit theatres as “First Blood”), Stallone expressed several times in recent years his interest in returning to the character and telling the next part of the story.
Rambo 6 would be the most obvious project to keep the series alive with the original star. In an interview with JoBlo in 2019, Stallone let slip that he could envision a sequel in which Rambo finds refuge on a reservation after the bloodshed in Last Blood. They have not yet concretized these plans.
Option 2: A Rambo prequel in streaming
Stallone is aware that he can’t embody the fighter forever. Therefore, he has already thought about a prequel on a streaming service that tells the prehistory of the first part. Here we would get to know John Rambo at the age of 16 or 17 as a teenager before he is sent to the Vietnam War.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter in 2022, Stallone outlined his original vision for the project as follows:
I wanted to make [the Rambo prequel] like a Ken Burns documentary about Vietnam. First we get to know young Rambo as an outgoing guy who’s a football captain. Then we see what the war does to him. But [the studio] has more of a film in mind that’s set in the present day and is about me passing the baton.
Option 3: The Rambo: New Blood series on television
Ten years ago, reports of a Rambo series first made the rounds in Hollywood. The U.S. television network Fox wanted to bring an episodic sequel to home screens with Rambo: New Blood, which would have dealt with the relationship between John Rambo and his son.
Of the three possibilities mentioned, this one is the least likely. There hasn’t been a new update on Rambo: New Blood in years. When Deadline last reported on the series in 2015, it was about Stallone not being involved. If a Rambo series does come, it will probably be with a completely new approach.
Greater odds are to be given to the movies. Stallone announced at the theatrical release of Rambo: Last Blood that box office success would decide on Part 6. But since the film grossed only $91 million on a budget of $50 million (not including marketing costs), there can be no talk of a major success.
Rambo: Last Blood is thus the first Rambo film that failed to break the 100 million dollar mark. The prequel, therefore currently has the best chances. In the interview as mentioned earlier with The Hollywood Reporter, Stallone says, “I think it’s going to happen. […] It could be made very soon.”
The only crucial question is whether it will even be a prequel. The project seems to have moved away from Stallone’s blend of coming-of-age and Vietnam War film. The idea of passing the baton sounds more like a legacyquel à la Creed – Rocky’s Legacy, which are very popular in Hollywood right now.
