Rambo: New Blood - reboot without Stallone
10-28-16, 04:37 PM
#1
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Rambo: New Blood - reboot without Stallone
One man army John Rambo is poised for a return the big-screen.
Nu Image/Millennium Films is plotting a reboot of the classic 1980s action franchise that starred Sylvester Stallone, tapping Brooks McLaren to pen the script and Ariel Vromen to direct the feature.
Titled Rambo: New Blood, the new reboot would not see Stallone return as the action hero, like he did in Millennium’s 2008 outting, but would see a younger actor inhabit the role. The company is looking at Rambo as a character akin to James Bond.
Rambo was the lead character in a 1972 novel by David Morrell titled First Blood. Hollywood adapted the book into the hit 1982 movie that starred Stallone in a story that despite its action trappings looked at issues facing disaffected Vietnam War vets. (It also veered from the book by having its protagonist live at the end of the story.)
When the series returned, with 1985’s Rambo: First Blood Part II, it was tapping into go-go 1980s America, with a script co-written by James Cameron. It was a pure high-adrenaline action movie with Rambo getting revenge, star and stripes style, on the Vietnamese. Stallone was at a zenith, the movie was unbeatable at the box office, and the character entered pop culture’s list of cinematic icons.
Rambo III, released in 1988, was a drop in quality and box office, and the character was dormant until Stallone resuscitated him for 2008’s Rambo.
No plot details were given for the new film as the project is still in early development.
McLaren has been working steadily in the action sphere since writing How It Ends, a post-apocalyptic survival tale which was on the 2010 Black List. Among his project is Line of Sight, an action thriller which Ben Affleck is developing for Warner Bros. He is repped by Verve and Brillstein Entertainment Partners.
Vroman is a Millennium favorite, having directed The Iceman, the 2012 crime drama that starred Michael Shannon and Winona Ryder, and Criminal, a Ryan Reynolds-Gal Gadot thriller released this year, for the company. He is repped by WME, LBI Entertainment and Marks Law Group.
Nu Image/Millennium Films is plotting a reboot of the classic 1980s action franchise that starred Sylvester Stallone, tapping Brooks McLaren to pen the script and Ariel Vromen to direct the feature.
Titled Rambo: New Blood, the new reboot would not see Stallone return as the action hero, like he did in Millennium’s 2008 outting, but would see a younger actor inhabit the role. The company is looking at Rambo as a character akin to James Bond.
Rambo was the lead character in a 1972 novel by David Morrell titled First Blood. Hollywood adapted the book into the hit 1982 movie that starred Stallone in a story that despite its action trappings looked at issues facing disaffected Vietnam War vets. (It also veered from the book by having its protagonist live at the end of the story.)
When the series returned, with 1985’s Rambo: First Blood Part II, it was tapping into go-go 1980s America, with a script co-written by James Cameron. It was a pure high-adrenaline action movie with Rambo getting revenge, star and stripes style, on the Vietnamese. Stallone was at a zenith, the movie was unbeatable at the box office, and the character entered pop culture’s list of cinematic icons.
Rambo III, released in 1988, was a drop in quality and box office, and the character was dormant until Stallone resuscitated him for 2008’s Rambo.
No plot details were given for the new film as the project is still in early development.
McLaren has been working steadily in the action sphere since writing How It Ends, a post-apocalyptic survival tale which was on the 2010 Black List. Among his project is Line of Sight, an action thriller which Ben Affleck is developing for Warner Bros. He is repped by Verve and Brillstein Entertainment Partners.
Vroman is a Millennium favorite, having directed The Iceman, the 2012 crime drama that starred Michael Shannon and Winona Ryder, and Criminal, a Ryan Reynolds-Gal Gadot thriller released this year, for the company. He is repped by WME, LBI Entertainment and Marks Law Group.
First Rambo 5 that never happened... then a Rambo TV show that didn't happen... lets hope this follows the same fate.
10-28-16, 04:49 PM
#3
DVD Talk Hero
Re: Rambo: New Blood - reboot without Stallone
Rambo akin to James Bond? WTF?
I can sort of see an Ethan Hunt type character with a military slant but the name "Rambo" is just too iconic, almost to the point of parody.
Although to be honest, I'd rather see some sort of reboot than another sequel with Stallone. The last one had a fitting end.
I can sort of see an Ethan Hunt type character with a military slant but the name "Rambo" is just too iconic, almost to the point of parody.
Although to be honest, I'd rather see some sort of reboot than another sequel with Stallone. The last one had a fitting end.
10-28-16, 09:01 PM
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Re: Rambo: New Blood - reboot without Stallone
WTF.
The only way I'd want a new Rambo flick is if they made another adaptation of the First Blood book. But closer to the book. Love that book.
The only way I'd want a new Rambo flick is if they made another adaptation of the First Blood book. But closer to the book. Love that book.
10-29-16, 03:21 AM
#7
10-29-16, 08:34 AM
#8
DVD Talk Platinum Edition
Re: Rambo: New Blood - reboot without Stallone
Just came here to post the same shit. If Stallone allows this to happen I'd be extremely disappointed.
10-29-16, 09:48 AM
#9
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Rambo: New Blood - reboot without Stallone
The producers trying to make this happen may honestly believe that Rambo can be a franchise that spans different actors in the role, but Rambo is so identified with Stallone that it's going to be difficult to get people to accept anyone else in the part.
And Rambo is a Viet Nam vet. That would have to be changed to Iraq war vet, which doesn't quite have the same cultural impact (some civilians insulted Viet Nam vets, spittong on them, calling them, "Baby killers," etc - that was the complete opposite of how civilians treated Iraq war vets, and the way Viet Nam vets were treated was something Rambo addressed in First Blood).
This could work, if the script is great and they get the right actor/director combo, but the odds against it are pretty long.
And Rambo is a Viet Nam vet. That would have to be changed to Iraq war vet, which doesn't quite have the same cultural impact (some civilians insulted Viet Nam vets, spittong on them, calling them, "Baby killers," etc - that was the complete opposite of how civilians treated Iraq war vets, and the way Viet Nam vets were treated was something Rambo addressed in First Blood).
This could work, if the script is great and they get the right actor/director combo, but the odds against it are pretty long.
10-31-16, 08:16 AM
#11
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Rambo: New Blood - reboot without Stallone
No skin off my back if they make it... I'll watch it.... but there's only one, true Rambo.
10-31-16, 08:46 AM
#12
DVD Talk Hero
Re: Rambo: New Blood - reboot without Stallone
I wouldn't be interested even if Stallone was involved. The Rambo story is pretty much done, in my eyes. If they do make it, I won't go.
10-31-16, 09:06 AM
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Re: Rambo: New Blood - reboot without Stallone
John Rambo may not have been perfect for the most part but it sure as hell stamped an end to the character's suffering. And to make him a storied franchise like Bond is stupid.
The only way to make another Rambo flick worth a damn is to just adapt the book again and do it closer to that version cuz it was awesome. More mental and raw.
The only way to make another Rambo flick worth a damn is to just adapt the book again and do it closer to that version cuz it was awesome. More mental and raw.
10-31-16, 09:12 AM
#14
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Re: Rambo: New Blood - reboot without Stallone
May not mean anything, but Sly posted these last night on his FB page
A man has to control his life, before control him ... Nothing is over...
" Some Men will never ever be able to go home again....."
A man has to control his life, before control him ... Nothing is over...
" Some Men will never ever be able to go home again....."
10-31-16, 10:24 AM
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10-31-16, 12:16 PM
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Re: Rambo: New Blood - reboot without Stallone
They're alike but very different too. Teasle was also pushed to a stereotype type of guy. Played well by Dennehy cuz he's a solid actor but the character had a lot more depth to him the book. I liked the back and forth of the book. I love the first film, it's just awesome. But... I'd like to see one more take on that book that stays closer to it.
I think Avi Lerner does.. still. I for some reason thought that Sly did.
MM made more sense than this. MM had all the reasons for it to not sound dumb fuck.
MM made more sense than this. MM had all the reasons for it to not sound dumb fuck.
10-31-16, 04:43 PM
#21
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Re: Rambo: New Blood - reboot without Stallone
If they can recast Captain Kirk they can recast just about anybody. I have no doubt, in capable hands, they could produce a first rate action movie featuring a guy called Rambo.
Vietnam is the crucial factor. Way more important than the actor. The Vietnam "experience" generated the Vietnam vet anti-hero genre of the 70s and early 80s. Rambo is the best known, Billy Jack the second.
These guys weren't the highly trained military we have today. They were Wally and Beaver Cleaver, the guys from American Graffiti. Unlike the WWII vets who grew up in the depression, these baby boomers. grew up watching Davy Crockett on tv, listening to Elvis. One day they're at the beach surfing, the next dropped into a jungle with a government issue rifle.
Another factor was the war ending during the cultural revolution. The so called "generation gap". The older generation lumped the returning vets into the same group with the others they despised, the hippies. The vets got the blame. In the Vietnam vet genre the vets are treated no different than the hippies are. Brian Dennehy's character sees Rambo no different than he would Fonda and Hopper from Easy Rider. They are the same in his eyes.
Having said all that, they can still turn out a killer action movie. The character will just have less depth creating a check your brain at the door type action flick.
Vietnam is the crucial factor. Way more important than the actor. The Vietnam "experience" generated the Vietnam vet anti-hero genre of the 70s and early 80s. Rambo is the best known, Billy Jack the second.
These guys weren't the highly trained military we have today. They were Wally and Beaver Cleaver, the guys from American Graffiti. Unlike the WWII vets who grew up in the depression, these baby boomers. grew up watching Davy Crockett on tv, listening to Elvis. One day they're at the beach surfing, the next dropped into a jungle with a government issue rifle.
Another factor was the war ending during the cultural revolution. The so called "generation gap". The older generation lumped the returning vets into the same group with the others they despised, the hippies. The vets got the blame. In the Vietnam vet genre the vets are treated no different than the hippies are. Brian Dennehy's character sees Rambo no different than he would Fonda and Hopper from Easy Rider. They are the same in his eyes.
Having said all that, they can still turn out a killer action movie. The character will just have less depth creating a check your brain at the door type action flick.
10-31-16, 08:01 PM
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Re: Rambo: New Blood - reboot without Stallone
That's why I say they just adapt the book again. It was a very different thing in terms of the journey and perspective of the Teasle and Rambo. Fuck. That book is such an awesome quick read.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE First Blood. Such an awesome movie. But the book has a very very unique experience in how the audience takes that same story's journey. One that I think would be an amazing film in someone's experienced hands. Go dramatic over action. The action was good in the book but that wasn't the point. It was the emotions that made it stronger for Rambo and Teasle. It was more of a balanced play of two men of two different backgrounds. Seriously... the book is cheap. It's a book that pulls you in quick to become a fast read. I was glad to have finally read it out of curiosity.
Saying that... They were all fun flicks. First Blood is the best. I like Rambo II: First Blood pt. III the best though. Sure... it's the stupidest one maybe... but goddamnit. I really liked that one to be in the desert and shit. I ran the hell out of that tape. John Rambo, while iffy narrative w/ the missionaries.. that was stupid, the character of Rambo though.... fuck. That character that time was the proper evolution of John Rambo from First Blood. Sly was hitting all the emotions w/ Rambo in that one. You felt his suffering, his sadness, his desperation to not be what he was, etc etc. Just great drama from that character. And that ending. I was so happy for him to just finally make it back home. To just accept that his past is no more and that he can be something else.
Goddamnit. I'm going to watch the First Blood BD now.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE First Blood. Such an awesome movie. But the book has a very very unique experience in how the audience takes that same story's journey. One that I think would be an amazing film in someone's experienced hands. Go dramatic over action. The action was good in the book but that wasn't the point. It was the emotions that made it stronger for Rambo and Teasle. It was more of a balanced play of two men of two different backgrounds. Seriously... the book is cheap. It's a book that pulls you in quick to become a fast read. I was glad to have finally read it out of curiosity.
Saying that... They were all fun flicks. First Blood is the best. I like Rambo II: First Blood pt. III the best though. Sure... it's the stupidest one maybe... but goddamnit. I really liked that one to be in the desert and shit. I ran the hell out of that tape. John Rambo, while iffy narrative w/ the missionaries.. that was stupid, the character of Rambo though.... fuck. That character that time was the proper evolution of John Rambo from First Blood. Sly was hitting all the emotions w/ Rambo in that one. You felt his suffering, his sadness, his desperation to not be what he was, etc etc. Just great drama from that character. And that ending. I was so happy for him to just finally make it back home. To just accept that his past is no more and that he can be something else.
Goddamnit. I'm going to watch the First Blood BD now.
Last edited by Solid Snake; 10-31-16 at 08:10 PM.
