The use of “AI” is a touchy — and often misinterpreted — subject in the world of visual effects. But if there was one use for the emerging tech that I believe everyone could get on board with, it would be turning Sylvester Stallone into a teenage version of his gun-toting Vietnam vet John Rambo. I think I can safely speak for everyone on planet Earth when I say that we def wanna see what that. There’s no way that could go wrong.
In a new interview with The Playlist’s Bingeworthy podcast, Stallone revealed that he actually went out and pitched the idea to studios just a few years back, but “everyone thought I was crazy.” Why would bigwig executives think the idea of a 79-year-old man playing his 18-year-old self through the magic of de-aging technology would be crazy? Did they not see Robert de Niro in The Irishman, Harrison Ford in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, or Sam Jack in Captain Marvel? There’s nothing weird about old guys fumbling around in the skin of young men at all. Audiences have never complained about that or the uncanny valley in general.
According to Stallone, the idea was he could wind back the clock to explore the early days of Rambo, which, based on the brutal events of 1981’s First Blood, would basically put him smack dab in the middle of the Vietnam War.
“AI is sophisticated enough to go through Saigon to see him at 18 years old and basically use the same image,” Stallone said. “So it isn’t as big a stretch.”
If true, the only big stretch would be the warm-up to the septuagenarian’s calisthenics regiment — and clearly Stallone isn’t afraid of his hamstrings. But by his account, Hollywood has once again backed down from throwing $100 million at an idea that would probably gross $100 billion at the box office, give or take a few bucks. Why so afraid? Clearly the suits didn’t see Tom Hanks play his 18-year-old self in Here. Yeah his character does more hanging around a living room rather than rolling around in jungle foliage with an M60, but still, proof of concept for TeenBo.
I will admit there are some reasons not to make a digitally de-aged Stallone Rambo prequel — mainly that the character of John Rambo, a trauma-ridden war vet with values to uphold, has lost all meaning over the last 43 years as he evolved into a symbol of bloodlust and vengeance. (Rambo: Last Blood was a reprehensible, jingoistic disaster.) But if you look past all that to the possibility of Stallone playing a smoothed-out JibJab version of his youthful self courtesy of AI facemapping, well, I think we’re on the same page. Great idea.
Sadly, this will not come to pass. Instead of picking up what Stallone was putting down, Millennium Media is moving forward with a Rambo prequel movie from Sisu director Jalmari Helander starring Noah Centineo (Netflix’s The Recruit) as the ’80s action legend. Stallone wishes him the best.
“It’s very, very hard,” he said of taking over an iconic role. “[Centineo] may do a stellar job, but you’re overcoming this because I went through it with Get Carter. Everyone loves the original, and then you’re always fighting that prejudice.”
Whereas if Stallone were able to play himself at age 18, then everyone would love it.