A potential Rambo 6 could revisit Sylvester Stallone’s controversial monster concept – but make Rambo himself the “monster” in question. The Rambo depicted in author David Morrell’s novel First Blood is quite different from the one that hit screens in the 1982 movie adaptation. The Rambo from the book was so deeply traumatized by his war experiences that he couldn’t switch off his killer instinct, and he had to be shot dead in the end to stop his rampage. Stallone wanted to take a more sympathetic approach to the role, with the character’s only kill coming from an act of self-defense.
Of course, later Rambo movies would depict Stallone’s soldier mowing down armies with machine guns, explosives arrows and even his bare hands. Over the course of the five Rambo movies made to date, the series switched gears from the cartoony action of Rambo III to the dour war drama of 2008’s Rambo. Stallone seemingly brought the franchise to a close with 2019’s Rambo: Last Blood, which saw the soldier lay waste to the cartel who kidnapped his surrogate daughter.
Last Blood received a mixed reception, with many reviewers complaining it felt more like a Taken-inspired revenge movie than Rambo. The sequel ended with the wounded Rambo taking to his horse and riding away from his farm to parts unknown, though the implication was his death was imminent. Stallone has since stated he could see the character seeking refuge at an Indian reservation for a possible Rambo 6, as Rambo himself is half-Indian. He could also revisit the idea he once had for part five, where Rambo fights a monster, but this time, the title character himself would be the creature being hunted.
Around 2009, Stallone announced Rambo 5 would be based on the sci-fi horror novel Hunter, which would see Rambo and a team of mercenaries hunting a monster. He described the creature as a feral, near-unkillable beast driven by pure instinct, but a vocal backlash to the idea saw him drop the notion. Rambo 6 could retool the concept to have Rambo himself be the monster pursued by a determined hunter, following the massacre he left on his farm. The soldier could revert once more to pure survival mode, essentially bringing him full circle to where viewers met him in First Blood.
Stallone has always described Rambo as something of a Frankenstein’s Monster, who on the one hand is the perfect soldier, but also hates killing. In 2008’s Rambo, he had spent 20 years hiding from the world and vowing to never kill again, until he’s forced into it. Following Last Blood’s gruesome finale, authorities would likely see him as a violent sociopath who needs to be stopped and would launch a major manhunt against him. This Rambo 6 could even commit to the darkness of the novel and see the character willing to kill his pursuers.
That said, this idea could turn Rambo into something of a villain, which Stallone may not be on board with. The character’s story doesn’t feel quite paid off following the fifth movie, so Rambo 6 could bring both the soldier and the series back to its roots. There was potential in the creature idea, as Sylvester Stallone saw it as a metaphor for Rambo’s own monster side, but by tweaking the story, this could be better explored in Rambo 6 by bringing out the “monster” in the title character.
