I recently caught up with what I had assumed would be the final instalment of John Rambo’s adventures, the imaginatively titled “Rambo”. Like pretty much everyone else that has seen it, I was profoundly disappointed and hoped it would be a final nail in the coffin rather than a set of jump-leads for an attempted resuscitation. It seems it was the latter. For shame.
News comes to us today that Sean Hood, who scripted the Conan reboot, has not only drafted but also submitted to Millennium Films a script for Rambo: Last Stand. Apparently it is based on some notes, an older screenplay and a book that were handed to Hood last year by Sly himself. Further clarifying details are sadly not forthcoming, although it has been confirmed that none of the other ideas that previously did the rounds (sci-fi, Mexican cartel, prequel) is under consideration here, rather an attempted return to the small-town context of the first film.
Hood is quoted as follows, showing an admirable mix of realism and aspiration:-
As of now, I don’t know whether Mr Stallone will actually do it. Right now, as I understand it, he has his hands full with Bullet to the Head and Expendables 2. But Millennium films did hire me to complete the screenplay and realise his story, and my hope is that he’ll eventually be inspired to do one more Rambo film, with the tone of Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven.”
So what do you all think? Let sleeping dogs lie, wheel the leathery old vet out for one more round? I can’t see the point myself, but as Wesley Snipes once said in New Jack City, “Money talks, BS runs the marathon”. Which I’m sure is every bit as philosophical and inspirational as it sounds.
Anyway, Empire Online is the source for all of this, so thank you to them. As for whether the ever elusive greenlight will be greenlit, watch this space.
