Nearly four decades after first blood was drawn, Stallone returns to reprise his role as one of the most iconic action heroes of all-time, ex-Green Beret and Vietnam War veteran John Rambo. Rambo: Last Blood, the final chapter to the legendary series, is a deadly journey of vengeance in which John Rambo must confront his past and unearth his lethal combat skills for one final mission—to save the granddaughter of an old family friend after she is kidnapped by a Mexican drug cartel.
Sylvester Stallone reprising his role as John Rambo in the sequel Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985).
John Rambo’s story began in 1982 when Sylvester Stallone first donned the red headband to portray the wandering Vietnam veteran suffering from post-traumatic stress in First Blood. In the beginning of the series, the misunderstood warrior is forced to dust off his combat and survival skills to elude both the police and United States National Guard after escaping from a small-town jail where physical abuse from the sheriff’s officers triggered the horrors from his past. The character became a bonafide action hero following the 1985 sequel Rambo: First Blood Part II, in which Rambo returns to the jungles of Vietnam on a duplicitous government mission to document the possible existence of prisoners of war. The next two movies saw much of the same, with Rambo raining down a storm of fire and bullets upon Soviet and Burmese forces while still trying to come to terms with his troubled past.
Sylvester Stallone returns as John Rambo in the fifth and final installment in the series, Rambo: Last Blood (2019).
The one constant throughout all Rambo movies has been Hollywood icon Sylvester Stallone, who first made a name for himself with what would become an even bigger on-screen legend—the southpaw from Philly, Rocky Balboa. At the age of 30, Stallone became just the third person ever to earn an Academy Award nomination for both acting and writing in the same year with his 1977 Best Picture winner Rocky. Stallone’s stock continued to soar as he peppered in star performances in action movies like Nighthawks (1981), Cobra (1986), Tango & Cash (1989), and Cliffhanger (1993) in between box office busting Rocky sequels. The current decade has seen the action star launch a new series in The Expendables (2010) while earning a Golden Globe® for his supporting role in Creed (2015), a continuation of the Rocky Balboa story.
In Rambo: Last Blood, Stallone looks to supply the adrenaline and heart of what is sure to be an emotional ending for a character that has grown along with his career over the last 37 years. He will be joined by a supporting cast that includes a mix of seasoned veterans and rising newcomers.
Paz Vega
Spanish actress Paz Vega’s career spans two continents, starring in movies and television shows across Europe and North America, including six seasons in one of Spain’s longest running sitcoms, 7 Vidas (1999-2006). Vega garnered considerable attention in 2001 for her breakout role as Lucia in Sex and Lucia (2001), earning her the Trophée Chopard for Female Revelation of the Year at the Cannes International Film Festival. She co-starred opposite Adam Sandler in Spanglish (2004) and has since shared the silver screen with some of Hollywood’s biggest stars, including Scarlett Johansson, Morgan Freeman, Christopher Lee, Eva Mendes, and Colin Farrell.
In Rambo: Last Blood, Vega plays a journalist covering the drug trade in Mexico named Carmen Delgado. She teams up with Rambo after her younger half-sister is kidnapped by a Mexican cartel.
Sergio Peris-Mencheta
Spanish theater, movie, and television actor Sergio Peris-Mencheta has starred in prominent Spanish and English-language titles, ranging from his work in the biographical television drama Isabel (2011-2014) to the action-horror movie Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010). He’s most recently appeared in the television series Snowfall (2017-2019) on FX, which explores the introduction of crack cocaine into the streets of 1980s Los Angeles—a smooth transition to the latest Rambo installment that sees the ex-Green Beret John Rambo battling Mexican drug cartels.
Sergio Peris-Mencheta will portray the final villain in the Rambo series, violent cartel leader Hugo Martinez. If the previous Rambo movies have taught us anything, it’s that the villains always get what’s coming to them. So, you can expect a bloody, vengeful showdown between Rambo and Martinez in Rambo: Last Blood.
Adriana Barraza
Following her early roles in Spanish-language television shows, the veteran actress from Mexico, Adriana Barraza, has gone on to act in a number of noteworthy movies, earning an Academy Award® nomination for her supporting role as Amelia in Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s Babel (2006). Three years later, she appeared in Sam Raimi’s horror-thriller Drag Me to Hell (2009) before stepping into the Marvel Cinematic Universe as the owner of Isabela’s Diner in Thor (2011).
Adriana Barraza plays Maria Beltran in Rambo: Last Blood, a character that is like a sister to Rambo. She’s been working his late father’s ranch for many years, the same ranch Rambo returns to at the end of Rambo (2008), and now lives on. Maria’s granddaughter, Gabrielle, provides the impetus for Rambo’s latest mission after, despite the disapproval of both her grandmother and Rambo, ventures into Mexico to locate her father and is kidnapped by a ruthless drug cartel.
Yvette Monreal
Yvette Monreal starred in a handful of television series, including Matador (2014) and Faking It (2014-2015), before making her feature debut in Lowriders (2016). She is also set to co-star in the upcoming DC Comics original series Stargirl, premiering in 2020.
Monreal’s character, Gabrielle, lives with her grandmother Maria Beltran (Adriana Barraza) presumably either on or nearby Rambo’s Arizona ranch. Gabrielle wishes to locate her father in Mexico, but both her grandmother and Rambo disapproveof the idea. She goes alone and is kidnapped by a drug cartel, presumably run by the movie’s villain Hugo Martinez (Sergio Peris-Mencheta). Rambo must travel south of the border and battle the cartel to save Gabrielle and return her home to Maria.
Dimitri “Vegas” Thivaios
Better known by his stage name Dimitri Vegas, you may recognize this Belgian-born musician of Greek origin as part of electronic dance music’s DJ duo “Dimitri Vegas and Like Mike”—Mike referring to his brother Michael Thivaios. In addition to headlining electronic dance music festivals around the world, Dimitri has begun to slowly establish a presence on the silver screen, starting with a small role in Big Hero 6 (2014). This won’t be the first time Dimitri has shared the screen with action royalty, having appeared opposite Jean-Claude Van Damme in The Bouncer (2019)—original title Lukas. There’s been no word yet on whether Dimitri will continue to work on his craft through a similar-sized role in the final Rambo movie or take on a larger role more vital to the story.
See these stars and more join Sylvester Stallone in the final chapter to an iconic action series, Rambo: Last Blood, opening tonight at Regal.
