'Rambo: Last Blood' will have a potentially controversial plot

It’s really happening. Rambo 5, otherwise known as Rambo: Last Blood is going to explode into cinemas on September 20, which is presumably confirmation that Sylvester Stallone has finally given up on the idea of winning a Best Actor Oscar.

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We could be wrong, of course. Maybe Rambo: Last Blood will be the next Creed (for which Sly was nominated for a Best Supporting trophy for his stunning performance), but we doubt it. These films are generally an excuse for Rambo to kill people in increasingly preposterous ways, and we don’t see them breaking the format to give Sly a five-minute monologue about the meaning of life.

And the synopsis, shared by Deadline, certainly seems to suggest that Rambo: Last Blood will be business as usual.

When the daughter of one of his friends is kidnapped, Rambo (Stallone) – who has been working on a ranch – crosses the U.S. – Mexico border and quickly finds himself up against the full might of one of Mexico’s most violent cartels.

With Mexico in the news pretty much every day thanks to Donald Trump’s mission to build a wall between the States and Mexico, Rambo: Last Blood could add a controversial edge to the debate (the series isn’t exactly known for its subtle portrayal of race). But we’ll wait for the first trailer before we start to judge it on that basis.

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For now, we’re just glad to see Stallone get another major role – even if it isn’t necessarily one that’ll fill the gap in his trophy cabinet.

The fifth edition of the series about the misadventures of a violent Vietnam vet follows previous installments First Blood (1982), Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985), Rambo III (1988) and Rambo (2008).

Rambo: Last Blood will be in US cinemas on September 20 and will be presumably be released in the UK around the same time.