Sylvester Stallone Received Death Threats While Filming 'Rambo' Sequel
By Favour Adegoke on November 23, 2021 at 3:30 AM EST
Sylvester Stallone has come a long way from his beginnings as a struggling actor in Hollywood. Currently, he is a renowned veteran who has featured in many blockbusters playing the lead role in most cases.
Several of his iconic independent films earned him nicknames like Rocky and Rambo, referencing the titular films. For both the "Rocky" and "Rambo" action thrillers, Stallone has reprised his lead role several times. The former has six installments, while the latter has five.
His body of works also includes "Creed," "First Blood," "Expendables," "Escape Plan," among others.
Throughout his career, his movie roles earned him fame, accolades, and financial rewards. However, one of the "Rambo" films brought more than Stallone must have bargained for at that time. It came with death threats while he was filming the role. Read on for more details.
Death Threats
For the fourth installment of the "Rambo" franchise, the production team wanted an original backdrop. The chosen location was in a dangerous part of the world. Per LA Times, the blockbuster got shot in Burma, Myanmar, a place embroiled in decades of civil war.
It is not surprising that something unexpected happened while filming amid the conflict. According to the Guardian, the actor received tons of death threats from unknown people who wanted the war to remain unnoticed by external eyes.
"I got them all the time," Stallone said during a press conference. "It's a dangerous part of the world. A lot of people disappear. "
He added, "They didn't want this movie filmed there. It's an insidious civil war that had gone on for 60 years, and no one knows about it because they've been keeping it quiet."
Stallone also recalled many eyesores that were unavoidable consequences of the war. He noted that he saw survivors with amputated legs, maggot-infested wounds, land mine injuries, and folks with their ears cut off. These days filming on actual sites is outdated due to CGI, and actors no longer need to face such ordeals.
The 'Rambo' Character Short-Lived Plans Got Axed
"Rambo" is a film adaptation of David Moller's 1972 action thriller novel titled "First Blood." Like the protagonist of the story, his movie counterpart should have died in the first installment. But Stallone scrapped the idea early on during the production of the film.
"In the first one, they wanted him eliminated like in the book, and I said, 'That does not fly," Stallone recalled as per Den of Geek. "Because this is going to be an ongoing concern for generations of these returning vets, so I wanted to keep the story alive, but without hitting it over the head."
As already known, the movie stretched on for years with several sequels all shot at a different location and with unique storylines, but with one particular trait of Rambo being a gun-toting legend.
Stallone Believes He Created His Best Works When He Was Broke
From his works, Stallone has garnered enough money and fame to tell his future scripts without any financial or other restrictions. Still, the "Guardian of the Galaxy" star feels that his best works came in moments of abject poverty.
In a 2005 interview with Howard Stern, the actor highlighted the reasons why he felt that way. He stated that the success of movie stars derails the focus that helped get them to the spot in the first place. For him, stressful and poor living conditions serve as a better motivation.
"It's great when you're working out there, and you change in the back of a pickup truck, there's a certain kind of energy about it," Stallone said in the interview.
"As we become more pampered, more spoiled, more reserved, you lose your edge. There's no doubt about it. Everyone's best work, usually, is in the first five years."
Is a Sixth 'Rambo' Movie In the Works?
Many fans have wondered if their favorite dystopian character might return to the screen. It all depends on Stallone and his plans for the film.
Though the dust has settled on the last sequel, Stallone is yet to confirm that the franchise has ended.
However, the Golden Globe winner does not have any plans for more sequels involving the protagonist. For him, he is done and dusted with sending Rambo on death-defying adventures and prefers a look at his early beginnings for a new script.
According to MovieWeb, Stallone has voiced this view a couple of times. In one instance, he said, "I hope they can do the prequel – He was the best person you could find."
"He was the captain of the team, the most popular kid in school, super athlete. He was like Jim Thorpe, and the war is what changed him. If you saw him before, he was like the perfect guy," he concluded.
