Rambo director reveals how his film will differ from the last two Stallone movies

New Rambo director Jalmari Helander has been speaking to Dexerto about his plans for the new movie, and how it will differ to what’s come before.

Jalmari Helander is one of the best action directors working today. His 2022 movie Sisu caused a sensation by taking a near silent protagonist, and pitting him against waves and waves of Nazis, with spectacularly violent and satisfying results.

Sequel Sisu: Road to Revenge hits screens on November 21, 2025, and we wrote in our 5-star Sisu 2 review that: “the set-pieces get bigger and better as proceedings progress, building towards a battle between hero and villain that absolutely delivers.”

So it’s no surprise that the director is now taking charge of a huge Hollywood franchise, and when we recently spoke to him, Helander hinted at what he has planned for the new John Rambo.

Next Rambo will be an adventure movie

Noah Centineo is set to play young John Rambo in the new movie, with final negotiations with the actor currently taking place. And when we spoke to Helander on October 3, 2025, he said he was heading to Bangkok for “hard prep” the next week, with principal photography set to commence in January.

The new movie will be a prequel that examines John Rambo’s experiences during the Vietnam War – before he became the killing machine we first met in 1982’s First Blood – and an official announcement stated it will “explore the formative experiences that shaped one of cinema’s most memorable action heroes.”

When we asked Helmader what to expect from his iteration, he said: “It won’t be as dark as the last two Rambos.”

He’s speaking of 2008’s Rambo and 2019’s Rambo: Last Blood. In the former, Rambo led a group of mercenaries into Burma to rescue Christian missionaries, while in the latter, Mexico was the destination, where his kidnapped niece was being held by a cartel and forced into sex work.

The kill count was huge in both movies, and while that might be the case in the forthcoming prequel, Helmader adds that: “It’s going to be a little more adventurous, and I hope to inspire a new generation of 10-year-olds to go into the forest to play Rambo. Let’s see how that goes.”