Bollywood remake of Rambo in the works

A ‘Rambo’ remake had to happen sooner or later – but fans might not have expected it to happen like this.

Just announced at the Cannes Film Festival is a Bollywood remake of ‘Rambo,’ which will cast actor Tiger Shroff in the title role as the musclebound, bandana-clad one man army made famous by Sylvester Stallone in the 1980s Hollywood action series.

Indiewire report that ‘Rambo’ will start production in early 2018 under director Siddharth Anand, previously responsible for 2014’s ‘Bang Bang,’ a Bollywood remake of Tom Cruise/Cameron Diaz action comedy ‘Knight and Day.’

Obviously given the US original centred on a veteran of the Vietnam war, the concept requires a little reworking for a contemporary Indian setting. Reportedly this new take “will follow the last surviving member of an elite covert unit of the Indian Armed forces who returns home to discover a war waging in his own land.

“Forced into the dangerous jungles and frozen mountains of the Himalayas, he unleashes mayhem and destruction, becoming the unstoppable machine he was trained to be.”

Nor is this the only Bollywood remake of a US action hit on the cards from film company Original Entertainment, as they have reportedly also have optioned the rights to produce Indian takes on ‘The Expendables,’ Bruce Willis thriller ’16 Blocks,’ Al Pacino thriller ’88 Minutes,’ and cop drama ‘Brooklyn’s Finest.’

Introduced in 1982’s ‘First Blood’ (a surprisingly grounded drama based on David Morrell’s novel), Stallone built Rambo into an action movie phenomenon with 1985’s notoriously gun-crazy ‘Rambo: First Blood Part II,’ and 1988’s ‘Rambo III.’ He later revived the character with 2008’s ‘Rambo’ (AKA ‘John Rambo’).

While Stallone had initially planned to make a fifth ‘Rambo’ movie, this now looks unlikely to happen, and it was announced in October 2016 that rights-holders Nu Image and Millennium Films planned to reboot the series and recast the lead role with a new movie entitled ‘Rambo: New Blood.’ However, nothing more has been heard on the matter since.

Stallone, by all accounts, was not happy about the US reboot plans, but has voiced his (cautious) support for the Indian remake, remarking on Instagram, “Great character; hope they don’t wreck it.”

Read More:
Mamma Mia! sequel announced
Tom Hardy cast in Spider-Man spin-off Venom
Wonder Woman hailed “best DC movie yet”