Lionsgate’s Noah Centineo-led John Rambo prequel has added another big name to its cast, as it will mark James Franco’s (Spider-Man) return to Hollywood after almost a decade.
As reported by Variety, Franco has landed a “small role” in the upcoming film, which will potentially see him appearing alongside Centineo’s Rambo or his character’s mentor, Major Trautman, who will be played by David Harbour (Stranger Things).
While his role will be small, this also marks a notable comeback for the 48-year-old, who had previously starred in numerous films like Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy, 127 Hours (2010), Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011), and The Interview (2014). His career would come to a halt following 2017’s The Disaster Artist, however, following a sexual misconduct scandal surrounding his alleged abuse of power and inappropriate behaviour with young actresses at Studio 4, his now-defunct acting and filmmaking school. Franco denied the allegations, but has not appeared in any major Hollywood productions until now.
Directed by Jalmari Helander, who helmed both the Sisu films, John Rambo will centre on the origins of the titular Rambo, set years before the events of 1982’s First Blood, with the film wrapping production in Thailand back in March. Sylvester Stallone, who portrayed the character in the original and would go on to reprise the iconic role across five films, will serve as the prequel’s executive producer alongside Anthony and Joe Russo, Trevor Short, and Bonfire Legend’s Dallas Sonnier and Amanda Presmyk.
Other members of its cast include Yao, aka Thomas Pang (Sinners), Jason Tobin (Warrior), Quincy Isaiah (Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty), Jefferson White (Hellboy: The Crooked Man) and Tayme Thapthimthong (The White Lotus), all in yet-to-be-specified roles.
While no release date has been announced for John Rambo, Franco also teased during the 2026 Cannes Film Festival opening night gala dinner that the film “won’t be ready for this summer, but my guess is it will be the end of this year or spring-summer 2027.”
Kevin is a reformed PC Master Race gamer with a penchant for franchise “duds” like Darksiders III and Dead Space 3. He has made it his life-long mission to play every single major game release – lest his wallet dies trying.
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