Yahoo News Rambo creator "sad" his idea for fifth film was dropped
Ten years after the last entry in the series, a fifth Rambo movie is in the works - with Sylvester Stallone returning as the hardened war veteran.
Rambo 5: Last Blood is the latest outing inspired by author David Morrell's original 1972 novel First Blood, adapted as the first John Rambo movie in '82.
Speaking to Digital Spy, Morrell revealed that he had previously developed a treatment for a fifth Rambo with Stallone, but that Last Blood will not be using any of his ideas.
Above: David Morrell on set with Sylvester Stallone
"The year he was making Creed, [Stallone] phoned me and said that he wanted to make a fifth Rambo movie that would be soulful," the writer explained.
"And we spoke for about two hours, on the phone, every weekend, for about eight weeks. We had a story worked out that we were thinking would be the kind of movie that would get positive attention at film festivals; that this would, indeed, be a soulful journey.
"It would have action, but it would essentially be about a man who was in war, and was looking back about what it had accomplished."
Things went quiet after this initial development period, but it still came as a big surprise to Morrell when Stallone declared he'd be hanging up his bow, the star announcing his retirement from the Rambo role in 2016.
"Then the next thing I know, they are making a fifth movie, but it's nothing at all like what he and I discussed," Morrell explained, picking up the story with the announcement of Last Blood - then known as Rambo V - in the summer of 2018.
He suggested that the abandoned version of Rambo 5 might've been "eligible for some awards" – not a huge leap, given how Creed revitalised the Rocky franchise and earned Stallone an Oscar nomination.
"It was exciting, [but] I can't talk about it. This would have put everything in a context, about the nature of war, and the nature of a man recalling it. Anyhow, it was sad to me [that it didn't happen]. It was one of those passion projects."
The Rambo Trilogy is available now on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-Ray and digital download.
Want up-to-the-minute entertainment news and features? Just hit 'Like' on our Digital Spy Facebook page and 'Follow' on our @digitalspy Instagram and Twitter account.
('You Might Also Like',)
