Rambo 6: John Wick might be the current reigning one-man killing machine in the market right now, but Rambo was the mean machine who started it way back in 1982 with ‘First Blood’. More than three decades later in 2019, John Rambo gears up for a fifth outing, supposedly his last as the title ‘Last Blood’ would suggest, but it’s always never say never with this mercenary, even though the director of the fifth film has strongly stated that this fifth outing is supposed to “close the circle” on Rambo’s story, hoping that it would serve as a suitable conclusion to the franchise.
The star of the franchise though, a one man army behind the scenes as well, Sylvester Stallone stated that he would like to continue portraying Rambo as long as the films succeed, with the current onus to perform well being on the fifth one, which is what brought us here. If nothing else works, there is always the prequel/spinoff way that most franchises seem to get by with easily. Here, we discuss all those possibilities and more. Read on.
Rambo: Last Blood Plot Summary
The currently lined up for release sequel will see John Rambo back in the United States battling with the demons of his past, when his niece is kidnapped by the Mexican cartel. Now Rambo must travel to Mexico to defeat the cartel single-handedly and bring down their boss, while at the same time ensuring the safety of his niece. The fifth film in the franchise was fashioned as a rugged western, and the influences from ‘Logan’ are pretty visible, confirmed by the director himself. ‘Last Blood’ is touted to bring Rambo’s five film saga to a suitable close.
Rambo 6 Plot: What Can It Be About?
‘Rambo’ has been a franchise since when studios were still learning about the massive commercial prospects of one, and before the whole world pounced on making one of their popular properties into a string of sequels, eventually leading to the formation of entire interconnected universes. Rambo in that sense has had an uneven history, with the first three films released in fairly equitable intervals, with ‘First Blood’ out in 1982, followed by ‘First Blood: Chapter II’ in 1985, and ‘Rambo III’ in 1988, thus closing the trilogy.
The franchise was revived again, 20 years later in 2008, with Stallone taking the reins in his own hands, directing the feature film himself, often regarded the best in the entire franchise. Eleven years later, the ‘Rambo’ films finally get around to showing an aged John Rambo, but not worn down. The trailer for the fifth one playing to the tune of ‘Old Town Road’ shows him in pretty solid form, taking down legions of men down on his own, and with a little help from some improvised booby traps, and of course his beloved dagger.
The franchise has never been too hot with the critics, except maybe the first and fourth one, but has managed to turn in decent profits to the tune of $727 Million in total worldwide collections, which is not too shabby considering a franchise that has run its course over 37 years. The second is unequivocally the most profitable one minting $300 Million internationally, but the franchise has been on a downer ever since in terms of business.
It would thus not be too far-fetched a statement when I say that the future of the franchise would depend on how well the fifth one does. Even if the support is unanimous on the public front, that hasn’t necessarily translated to great returns, with the fourth movie bringing in only $113 Million in worldwide collections, indicating that the audience might be feigning interest in seeing these films at the theatres, despite an ever loyal fanbase that Stallone enjoys till date.
The reviews for the fifth one indicate not a very different story, with the film standing at a dismal 37% on Rotten Tomatoes as of now, despite only roughly half of the reviews turned in by today. Much of the criticism for the film was directed towards its portrayal of Mexico and Mexicans, its non-existent story line and a load of bloodshed and stomach-churning violence that served little to no purpose, plot-wise. If the reviews are anything to go by, it may be time for the franchise to pack up if the box office collections, both domestic and international, don’t add up too well.
Coming to the possible plot of the sixth instalment of the film, if it happens, could be either a direct sequel or a prequel, as expressed by Stallone himself. If it happens to be a direct sequel, it may not be able to afford the same time jump that ‘Last Blood’ was able to afford, eleven years to be precise. In the same time, Rambo is shown to have aged as well just as much, so the film, if it happens, would have to be invariably set within the next two to three years, in real time. If not, there is always the prequel route to take, one that Stallone wants set even before the events of ‘First Blood’, before the Vietnam War which is often seen as a major turning point in who John Rambo was a person.
Regarding the same, Stallone had this to say: “I always thought of Rambo when he was 16 or 17 – I hope they can do the prequel – he was the best person you could find. He was the captain of the team; he was the most popular kid in school; super athlete. He was like Jim Thorpe, and the war is what changed him. If you saw him before, he was like the perfect guy.” It would seem like Stallone himself is quite game for future movies to pan out, and regardless of his age or personal involvement in the cast itself, he would want these movies to go on. I can smell another ‘Creed’ like spin-off. Can you?
Rambo 6 Cast: Who Could Be In It?
Owing to the significant temporal shift here, eleven years for the fifth film, the cast for ‘Last Blood’ is comprised of all new cast members, except the one constant, Sylvester Stallone. Apart from him, even if it’s a direct sequel, I hardly think anybody else from the original cast of ‘Last Blood’ would show up, especially none of the bad guys, considering the body count Rambo leaves in ‘Last Blood’.
Rambo 6 Release Date: When Can It Premiere?
As I have stated before, the Rambo movies don’t seem to have a very fixed timeline, each successive entry solely dependent on the financial success of the previous one. Assuming that a sixth one is made and is a direct sequel, it HAS to be made within the next two years, for obvious reasons. If the makers and Stallone decide to opt for a prequel route, it could be anything between the next two to five years, depending on Stallone’s involvement, and more importantly, depending on the performance of ‘Last Blood’ at the ticket windows. Either way, even by the most optimistic estimates, a release in 2023 or 2024 for Rambo 6 looks unlikely.
