Sylvester Stallone’s ‘Rambo: Last Blood’ Dated for September

The fifth installment of the “Rambo” franchise, “Rambo: Last Blood,” will hit theaters on Sept. 20 — 37 years after the series launched with “First Blood.”

The story centers on Sylvester Stallone’s John Rambo crossing into Mexico and taking on a violent cartel when the daughter of one of his friends is kidnapped. “Rambo: Last Blood” also stars Paz Vega, Sergio Peris-Mencheta and Yvette Monreal. Adrian Goldberg is directing from a screenplay by Stallone and Matthew Cirulnick. Stallone, who was 36 when the first film premiered, will be 73 at “Last Blood’s” release.

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“Rambo: Last Blood” was shot in Bulgaria, and follows “First Blood,” “Rambo: First Blood Part II” (1985), “Rambo III” (1988) and “Rambo” (2008). Producers are Kevin King Templeton and Les Weldon.

The four Rambo films have grossed a combined $728 million in worldwide box office, led by $300 million for “Rambo: First Blood Part II.”

The Lionsgate pic is the third title to land on the date after Sony’s “Black and Blue,” starring Naomie Harris and Frank Grillo, and Focus Features’ movie adaptation of “Downton Abbey.”

The first film was based on David Morrell’s 1972 novel “First Blood,” about a troubled Vietnam War veteran and former U.S. Army Special Forces Soldier who is expert in weaponry, hand-to-hand combat and guerrilla warfare. In the first film, Rambo has been wandering the country for nearly a decade before winding up in a small town in Washington and tangling with local law enforcement — leading to the destruction of most the town before he surrenders.

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