With films like Bullet to the Head and The Expendables 2 due to hit theaters this year - and The Tomb co-starring Arnold Schwarzenegger as the next item on his acting to-do list - Sylvester Stallone has been enjoying what he calls a "walk down memory lane" by writing, directing and/or starring (sometimes, all three) in action flicks that harken back to the hard R-Rated, testosterone-fueled, violent cinematic romps that were all the rage in Hollywood during the 1980s and 90s.

Hence, there's always been good reason to suspect that Rambo 5 with Stallone would eventually be made - even after the Hollywood icon claimed (matter-of-factly) that the film would never be made, back in 2010.

In a recent interview with Macleans.ca, Stallone touched on many topics concerning his career as a whole - like his surprise success with Rocky, a onetime feud with Schwarzenegger, his frequent poor choice in film roles during the 90s, etc. - when the actor mentioned that he is indeed still "dying" to make a fifth Rambo flick.

Here is what Stallone had to offer, in terms of the potential storyline for Rambo 5:

"[John Rambo's] in Arizona on the border. It will involve him going into Mexico. I don't think Rambo likes Mexicans."

rambo 5 last stand still alive

The idea of John Rambo crossing over the U.S.-Mexico border and battling Mesoamerican criminals is similar to one that Stallone mentioned as being the setup for Rambo 5 a few years ago. However, in that instance, the idea was that Rambo would be battling Mexican cartels specifically.

When last we had anything of substance to report on a fifth Rambo flick - back in the latter half of Summer 2011 -  it had supposedly been retitled Rambo: Last Stand and was being scripted by Sean Hood (Conan the Barbarian). Hood had also provided the following nugget of information about how he came to be working on the project, and what the basis for his script draft was:

“I met with Mr Stallone twice last year…He gave me a book, an older screenplay, and about twenty pages he’d written himself to use as inspiration for the last chapter of the Rambo saga…It’s more in line with the small-town thriller of 'First Blood'.”

If you put two and two together, the implication seems to be that Stallone's "book" for Rambo 5 may involve the eponymous Vietnam vet having found his way back to the United States - after making a living in Thailand in the fourth film, titled simply Rambo - and that Hood's screenplay runs with that idea of Stallone's onscreen counterpart shaking it up with some thugs who hail from the southern region of the U.S.-Mexico border.

rambo 5 sylvester stallone

Stallone's been in a similar position before - with a project that he's excited to make but which may or may not actually happen. In the aftermath of Rocky Balboa becoming a surprise critical and box office smash (paving the way for Rambo to be made and achieve similar financial success) it's all the more difficult to dismiss just about any Stallone-centered action sequel as preposterous or not even a remote possibility.

Considering that the actor/filmmaker's star meter doesn't look to drop anytime soon, Stallone may manage to eventually pull Rambo 5 together after all. Whether or not the film will successfully bring things full circle back to First Blood and end the franchise on a high note as promised, well, that's another matter.

We will continue to keep you posted on the status of Rambo 5 as the story develops.

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Source: Macleans.ca