John Rambo Prequel Movie Casts James Franco in Small Role

Upcoming action movie prequel John Rambo has reportedly added James Franco to its cast.

Details on what is set up to be the controversial actor’s first notable big-studio part in years came from Variety, which said that he has joined the film for a “small role.” Production on the film in Thailand is said to have wrapped.

Franco was well-known for parts in movies like the Sam Raimi-directed Spider-Man trilogy, The Disaster Artist, 127 Hours, and Pineapple Express before being cast out of Hollywood after five women accused him of sexual misconduct in 2018. Of those women, four were students at his now-defunct Studio 4 acting school, while another described him as a mentor. Franco denied the allegations at the time.

A lawsuit regarding the allegations then emerged in 2019 before being settled for more than $2.2 million in 2021. Franco admitted to sleeping with students and said his actions were “wrong” later that same year. Outside of a few somewhat smaller films, the events were enough to keep him out of the public eye and even damage his working relationship with longtime collaborator Seth Rogen. Franco went on to tease his plans to do a “big studio movie” and respond to rumors that he had been hiding away during an interview with Deadline at Cannes Film Festival last week.

“It’s not true I’ve been hiding out,” he said. “I’ve been here the last three or four years running, selling things and they treat me well and I get to go and see great movies.”

Franco joins Noah Centineo (To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before), who has been picked to play a younger version of Sylvester Stallone’s First Blood character, John Rambo, and David Harbour (Stranger Things), who recently boarded to take over the role of Commanding Officer Major Trautman. Yao (Sinners), Jason Tobin (Warrior), Quincy Isaiah (Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty), Jefferson White (Civil War), and Tayme Thapthimthong (The White Lotus) are all also attached to the movie. Sisu filmmaker Jalmari Helander is directing the project.

John Rambo has no release date, and no plot details outside of the promise to tell an origin story for the action icon have been released. For more, you can read about how Marvel Studios veterans Joe and Anthony Russo are involved.

Photo by Andreas Rentz/Getty Images.

Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He’s best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).