Noah Centineo to Play Young John Rambo in Vietnam-Era Origin Film from Sisu Director

Noah Centineo trades romance for jungle warfare in Young Rambo, directed by Sisu’s Jalmari Helander. / Variety

Get ready for more jungle warfare, PTSD-fueled showdowns, and soul-searching action, because John Rambo is officially headed back to the big screen—this time as a young soldier fighting his way into legend. The Rambo franchise is about to get a fresh start with a Vietnam War origin story, announced as a prequel and starring Noah Centineo, with direction from none other than Sisu’s Jalmari Helander.

Rambo Begins: A Franchise Flips the Timeline

Fans have been clamoring for years to know just how John Rambo, America’s most infamous cinematic vet, became the lone wolf hero with a thousand-yard stare. 42 years after First Blood introduced him as a haunted drifter and Medal of Honor recipient, we're finally getting answers straight from his combat roots.

Instead of another modern-day, revenge-fueled sequel, the new film rewinds to the late 1960s and early '70s, digging deep into the crucible of war that forged the myth—and the trauma—at the heart of the Rambo saga.

Enter Noah Centineo: From Teen Heartthrob to Action Heavyweight

Noah Centineo, best known for Netflix’s To All the Boys series and spy-thriller The Recruit, is swapping teen romance for mud, blood, and bullet casings as the young John Rambo.  This casting surprised a lot of folks who associate Centineo with softer roles, but it marks a major pivot for the actor—he’s set to lead an action franchise loaded with emotional and physical challenges.

Centineo’s take on Rambo won’t just mimic Stallone’s iconic gritted-jaw persona. The prequel promises a nuanced look at the soldier’s early days: the camaraderie, the betrayals, and the invisible wounds left by Vietnam. If Centineo can channel even a fraction of the brooding intensity that Stallone made famous, this could be a career-defining move. The fact that he’s also lining up for a live-action Street Fighter suggests he’s not afraid to get gritty.

Sisu’s Jalmari Helander Locked to Direct

Here’s why genre fans are pumped: Jalmari Helander, fresh off his cult action hit Sisu, is steering the Rambo origin story. If you caught Sisu, you know Helander’s got a serious flair for relentless violence, rugged landscapes, and underdog grit—all Rambo essentials. Helander brings a European wildness to action, and his ability to piece together high-octane brutality with sly dark humor should make for a Rambo that’s both raw and original.

The script comes courtesy of Rory Haines and Sohrab Noshirvani, a duo with solid action credentials: they penned Black Adam and The Mauritanian, showing they can handle both popcorn spectacle and deeper psychological drama.

The Setting: Vietnam in All Its Gritty Glory

The new film—currently referred to as John Rambo—dives straight into Vietnam. Imagine dense jungle, torrential rain, and the chaos of guerilla combat.  Rambo’s journey from just another kid in uniform to haunted legend will be at the story’s heart, with the filmmakers promising a “psychological and emotional” character study.

Action fans have been waiting to see this era on screen for decades. More than any other war, Vietnam shaped the Rambo mythos, and revisiting it in 2026 means a fresh take on military trauma, loyalty, and the cost of survival.

Filming is set to kick off early next year in Thailand, which will double beautifully for war-torn Vietnam. This choice doesn’t just offer authenticity—it connects all the way back to First Blood Part II and Rambo III, which also used Asian locales to haunting effect.

Who’s Making This Happen?

Production duties fall to Millennium Media, the studio responsible for reviving Rambo in Last Blood and for churning out grindhouse favorites like The Expendables. Franchise veterans Avi Lerner, Kevin King-Templeton, Les Weldon, and Jonathan Yunger are all on board, joined by executive producers Trevor Short, Amanda Presmyk, and Dallas Sonnier.

Though Lionsgate hasn’t locked distribution yet, the studio’s past with Rambo (and with Helander on Sisu) shows they know how to sell hyper-violent action to the masses. A deal seems all but certain.

What About Stallone?

Sylvester Stallone’s shadow looms large over any Rambo project—he’s embodied the character for over 40 years and basically defined “action hero” in Hollywood. While Stallone won’t be taking part in the new film, he’s reportedly been briefed and has given his blessing for the character’s legacy to continue.  Considering that no one will ever truly fill his muddy boots, it’s a bold move for the franchise to finally pass the torch.

Let’s not forget: even post-Creed, the Rocky sequels have shown it’s possible to expand a Stallone-created universe with heart and brains if you respect the origin.

Why Now? The Case for a Vietnam-Era Rambo

The time’s right for a new Rambo story for a couple reasons. First, Hollywood’s knee-deep in legacy reboots—but rarely do prequels try to interrogate a tough character’s origins in this raw a fashion. Second, Vietnam stories are in the spotlight again (see last year’s The Sympathizer), with filmmakers eager to reckon with the war’s psychological aftermath.

More than that, Rambo as a figure is still wildly misunderstood. The early films, and especially First Blood, were pointed meditations on America’s abandonment of its veterans and the broken systems that chew up young men. Later sequels mostly became bullet ballets—but the bones of something deeper have always been there. This prequel offers a chance to remind fans—and maybe a new generation—of where Rambo came from and why he’s more than an action figure.

Will Centineo’s Rambo Work?

There’s no denying that Noah Centineo has big, bandana-sized shoes to fill. Every fan has their idea of who Rambo should be: a stoic, silent killer? A wounded kid lost in a world gone mad? A symbol of how wars scar us all? This origin story will need to juggle all of that.

With Helander’s vicious action style and a script team unafraid of emotion, Centineo could surprise even hardened skeptics. Give this a little room to breathe, let the cast and crew lean into both the trauma and the action, and we might just have a modern war movie that does more than rake up nostalgia.

The Future of the Franchise

The Rambo franchise has made more than $800 million worldwide since Stallone first tied that iconic headband. With this new Vietnam-era approach, the door’s open for sequels, spin-offs, and, who knows, maybe a gritty streaming series. The key question is: Can the new crew balance the character’s dark complexities and the crowd-pleasing violence? If yes, there’s lots more ground to cover.

Millennium Media and Lionsgate are betting that audiences still crave underdog heroes—and that action movies about trauma and survival aren’t going out of style. The entire genre’s gotten smarter and meaner in recent years, and Rambo’s never shied away from showing the cost of war.

Final Thoughts

It’s a roll of the dice, but a promising one: Cast a young, unproven Rambo. Ground him in the horror of Vietnam. Set a rising action director loose. At best, we get a movie that honors what made the character great and expands his story for a new era. At worst, we’ll at least see a Rambo that tries something crazy and fresh. Either way, we’ll be keeping an eye on this one as it gears up for shooting in Thailand next year.

As news drops, expect more updates at Horror Movies Uncut’s blog—and don’t be shy about letting us know whether you think Centineo is up for the task in our forum!

Rambo is back. Are you ready to hit the jungle?