James Franco gets Hollywood comeback as he's cast in Rambo prequel film

Filming of a new Rambo film has just wrapped up deep in the jungles of Thailand, with fans of the blockbuster action series eagerly awaiting a fresh instalment in the franchise made famous by Sylvester Stallone.

But maverick veteran and quintessential lone wolf John Rambo is not the only one making a Hollywood comeback, with the upcoming prequel also returning a familiar actor to the big screen after a lengthy absence.

That is, Spiderman and Pineapple Express star James Franco, who hasn't been in a major studio picture for around seven years but will be returning to help bring Rambo to a whole new generation of action movie fans.

Franco will not be one of the main characters in the prequel, instead, Variety reports him playing a small villain part, with the Black Adam and Charlie's Angels actor Noah Centino taking up Stallone's mantle as John Rambo.

Sylvester Stallone's Rambo is one of the most iconic action figures of all time (unset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images)

48-year-old Franco's casting in the major motion picture has already proved divisive due to the serious allegations made against him in 2018 and 2019, when a number of former female acting students of his came forward with allegations of sexual abuse and exploitation.

Some described his acting classes as a 'pipeline of young women' being made to acting in nude scenes and pressured into sexual situations, with Franco ultimately settling their civil case against him in 2021 for a reported $2.2 million.

In December of that year, Franco admitted to sleeping with his young student and using his 'fame like a lure' which he admitted was wrong, but asserted that he had always sought consent.

He said: "I suppose at the time, my thinking was: If it's consensual, it's OK."

With a number of actors, including long time friend Seth Rogen, distancing themselves from the Freaks and Geeks star, Franco has spent much of the past seven years or so taking life at a slower pace, occasionally starring in French or Italian language films.

In 1982's First Blood, Rambo is forced to flee a cruel police department while suffering with PTSD (CBS via Getty Images)

But this new film will see the award-winning actor returning to Hollywood for the movie that will finally tell the full back story of John Rambo who, in 1982's First Blood, first appeared to the public as a PTSD-ridden Vietnam special forces veteran.

While its Finnish director Jalmari Helander has kept quiet about the exact details that fans of the series will learn about Rambo's time serving in Vietnam, Franco himself has revealed when the public can expect the prequel to appear in cinemas.

Speaking at the Cannes Film Festival's opening night earlier this week, where he was spotted with girlfriend Izabel Pakzad, Franco revealed that he had recently finished filming for a role in a 'big studio movie'.

Though he did not state that this role was in John Rambo, which was later confirmed, he did reveal that the film 'won’t be ready for this summer, but my guess is it will be end of this year or spring-summer 2027.'