Release OrderRecommended
0 / 5 watchedThe order the films came out, which is also Rambo's life in sequence. Start at 1982 and keep going.
- 1 First Blood Hope, Washington. Sheriff Teasle jails drifter Rambo and the manhunt escalates. Directed by Ted Kotcheff.
- 2 Rambo: First Blood Part II Back to Vietnam to find POWs. Directed by George P. Cosmatos; James Cameron shares script credit.
- 3 Rambo III Afghanistan. Rambo rescues Colonel Trautman from the Soviets. Directed by Peter MacDonald.
- 4 Rambo Burma. Rambo ferries missionaries upriver, then takes on the Tatmadaw. Directed by Stallone.
- 5 Rambo: Last Blood Arizona ranch and Mexico. Rambo faces the Martinez cartel. Directed by Adrian Grunberg. Latest released entry.
About Rambo
Sylvester Stallone plays John Rambo, a Vietnam veteran whose combat skills keep pulling him back into wars he tried to leave. The series runs five films from 1982 to 2019: a manhunt in Washington state, a POW rescue in Vietnam, Afghanistan, Burma, then a cartel fight on the US-Mexico border. First Blood adapts David Morrell's 1972 novel of the same name.
Release order is story order, so watch the five straight through. A prequel titled John Rambo follows a young Rambo in Vietnam with Noah Centineo cast and Sisu director Jalmari Helander attached, but Stallone is not involved and no release date was set as of September 2026.
Good to know
Prequel status as of September 17, 2026: Millennium Media produces, Lionsgate holds global distribution, and AGBO joined with Angela Russo-Otstot and Michael Disco named as producers. The script comes from Rory Haines and Sohrab Noshirvani, filming in Thailand was eyed from early 2026, and some listings guess 2027, but no date was confirmed. Treat 2027 as a guess.
The 1986 animated series Rambo: The Force of Freedom (65 episodes) is a separate kids' continuity and is not listed. Stallone once floated a sixth film with Rambo on a reservation; the prequel replaced that plan.
