Here's the role Dolph Lundgren almost played in Rambo: First Blood Part II. First Blood proved to be a surprise success for star Sylvester Stallone, who at one point was so horrified by the movie's messy first cut he offered to buy the negative so he could destroy it. After some extensive re-edits, the movie became a taut thriller grounded by Stallone's great performance. The second movie took a very different approach from First Blood's relatively grounded tone and action, however.
In crafting Rambo: First Blood Part II, Stallone decided it was time to see the title character do what he does best as he returns to Vietnam, which is wage war. This translates to the character unleashing hell on his various foes with everything from explosive tipped arrows to helicopter gunships. The movie's bombastic action sequences made it a huge success, while Rambo himself has become an iconic action hero.
Rambo 2 was released in 1985, the same year as Rocky IV, which pit Stallone's title character against hulking Soviet boxer Ivan Drago. Outside of a brief, wordless appearance in Bond adventure A View To A Kill, Drago was Dolph Lundgren's first movie role and it made him a star overnight. However, he actually went up for both Rambo: First Blood Part 2 and Rocky IV, and ended up landing roles in both. Some sources erroneously state he was cast as hammy Russian villain Lieutenant Colonel Podovsky (Steven Berkoff), but he actually landed the role of his henchman Sergeant Yushin.
Lundgren revealed in a chat with Yahoo! he first landed the Yushin role, who is another near-mute, hulking Russian who tortures Rambo and later fights him in a helicopter. When Lundgren was eventually cast as Drago after a long search, he was later removed from the Yushin role, while actor Voyo Goric ended up playing it. This was probably a wise choice because while Yushin was a smaller role, the two characters are a little too similar.
Plus, Rocky 4's Drago proved to be a career-making part for Lundgren, so it worked out in the end. Stallone and Dolph have reunited many times in recent years, which includes The Expendables trilogy, and Lundgren making a belated return as Drago in Creed 2. The pair are also set to reunite for upcoming spy series The International, which Stallone will co-produce and Lundgren will play the lead in. Rambo 2's Voyo Goric would later go on to appear with Jean-Claude Van Damme a few times in movies like Universal Soldier.