Barely a month has passed since Sylvester Stallone ruled himself out of appearing in FOX’s long-gestating New Blood TV reboot, and it seems the actor is ready to call time on his portrayal of one John Rambo.
Word comes by way of Variety where Stallone conceded that, despite working on a script for Rambo V over the past two-to-three years, he now has no plans to continue the gun-toting renegade’s story on screen. Indeed, such a follow-up would have risked undermining the seemingly conclusive ending of 2008’s actioner, and in the interview, the action veteran reflected on the history of the saga and why he believes the Rambo series was very much a product of its time.
Per Variety:
You know when you realize there’s nothing more to pull out? As an action film, I was very satisfied that it dealt with the Burmese situation. It had one foot in a current event, the longest civil war in history, 65 years at that time. It was so brutal, which civil war is, I was shocked they even gave me an R-rating. I didn’t want to compromise. I said, “This is probably going to be the last decent film of this genre that I’m going to do as a solo act.” When that was accomplished, I never felt the same willingness to do it again. There’s nothing left. When they asked me to do another Rambo, I said, “If I can’t do better than I did last time, and I can’t, then why?”
It’s too early to tell how – or indeed if – Stallone’s decision to hang up the machine gun will have an impact on FOX’s TV revival. Said to focus on the son of John Rambo, the network’s spinoff is in the early stages of development, though Stallone himself admitted that shifting focus away from the core character is a difficult feat.
Further in the interview, he noted that “it’s delicate to try to replace a character with his son. I’ve seen the son of Flicka, the son of Tarzan, the son of King Kong, the son of Godzilla. It’s a very difficult premise.”
Sylvester Stallone’s future as Rambo may be non-existent at this point, but it appears there’s still hope for his future as Rocky Balboa.