James Franco has joined the cast of the upcoming prequel film John Rambo, taking a small role in a project that recently wrapped production in Thailand and is set before 1982’s First Blood. Noah Centineo stars as a young John Rambo, while David Harbour plays Major Trautman, Rambo’s commanding officer.
The film is directed by Jalmari Helander and also includes Yao, Jason Tobin, Quincy Isaiah, Jefferson White and Tayme Thapthimthong. Sylvester Stallone launched the blockbuster Rambo franchise with First Blood, and this new installment goes back to the character’s origin before the story that made Stallone a star.
Franco disclosed the project at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival, when he said he had recently finished work on a “big studio movie” and described it as his first blockbuster project in nearly a decade. He also said the film would not be ready for that summer, estimating it would be finished by the end of the year or in spring-summer 2027. Later reports identified the movie as John Rambo, confirming the actor’s return to a major franchise after years on the sidelines.
The role is Franco’s first major franchise appearance since his brief turn in Alien: Covenant. It also marks a visible step back into the Hollywood center after his mainstream career largely stalled in the wake of sexual misconduct allegations and legal claims from former acting students. In 2018, the Los Angeles Times reported that multiple women accused Franco of sexual misconduct and inappropriate behavior. Two former acting students later sued him over exploitative conduct at his now-closed Studio 4 acting school, and that case was settled in 2021 for $2.2 million.
Franco denied many of the allegations, but later acknowledged that he had relationships with students and said he needed to reflect on his behavior. In 2021, he said on SiriusXM’s The Jess Cagle Podcast that he had paused after the 2018 complaints. Since then, he has worked in smaller independent and international productions, including The Price of Money: A Largo Winch Adventure and Hey Joe, while also continuing to develop and sell projects at Cannes.
“It’s not true I’ve been hiding out,” Franco said at Cannes. “I’ve been here the last three or four years running, selling things.” His latest move suggests that the long gap between his early studio-era visibility and this franchise return is closing, even if only partly. The unanswered question is not whether he is back in a major production; it is how much of Hollywood will treat this as a comeback rather than a limited re-entry, especially after years in which his name remained tied as much to controversy as to film work.
Franco also said in a 2024 interview that he and Seth Rogen no longer speak. “I love Seth, we had 20 great years together, but I guess it’s over,” he said then, underscoring how far his professional circle has shifted as he rebuilt his career away from the comedies that once made him a familiar studio presence. With John Rambo now wrapped and headed toward a likely 2027 release window, Franco’s first big franchise role in years is no longer a rumor or a tease. It is in the can.
