Actor, writer/director Sylvester Stallone never met a franchise he didn’t want to run into the ground. Anytime Stallone’s had a huge hit on his hand he’s turned the film into a franchise and one that often undid all the goodwill of the original films. There have been seven “Rocky” films – many of them good, but the last few really sullied the series until Ryan Coogler brought back some respectability in “Creed”- three ‘Expendables’ films, and of course four “Rambo” films (it’s kind of a miracle that there are no sequels to “Cobra,” “Tango & Cash” and “Demolition Man“).
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Now, Stallone is set to reprise his role as former Green Beret John Rambo in “Rambo V.” Millennium Media, and the company behind “The Expendables” will bring the picture to Cannes this week to drum up interest. Stallone is apparently working on the script himself, but a director has yet to be named.
In the tradition of finding foreigners that Rambo must kill (the Vietnamese, the Afghanis, the people of Myanmar), “Rambo V” will take on the Mexicans and the violent cartels. Here are the long-form synopsis details:
Stallone’s return to action in the long-running series finds him living in a ranch in Arizona, deeply troubled and wrestling with PTSD as he picks up casual work wherever he can. When a long-time family friend and estate manager Maria informs Rambo that her grand-daughter has gone missing after crossing into Mexico for a party, he sets off with her to find the youngster. What ensues is a violent descent into hell as Rambo uncovers a sex-trafficking ring. He teams up with a journalist whose half-sister has also been kidnapped and must deploy all his skills to save the girls and bring down a vicious crime lord.
Production on the fifth film, which has spanned 36 years so far is scheduled for the beginning of September and will shoot in places like London, Bulgaria, and the Canary Islands (but not Mexico, apparently). Stallone had better hope there’s some newfound nostalgia for the character gestating somewhere. The fourth ‘Rambo’ movie couldn’t even crack $45 million domestically and only grossed just over $110 million worldwide. [ScreenDaily]