“John Rambo,” in which Noah Centineo plays the titular action hero, is Franco’s first major franchise film since he was accused of sexual misconduct in 2018 in allegations he has denied.

James Franco will be in Rambo prequel, marking his first Hollywood blockbuster in nearly a decade

"John Rambo," in which Noah Centineo plays the titular action hero, is Franco's first major franchise film since he was accused of sexual misconduct in 2018 in allegations he has denied.

By Wesley Stenzel

Wesley Stenzel

Wesley Stenzel is a news writer at **. He began writing for EW in 2022.

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on May 16, 2026 12:16 p.m. ET

James Franco at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival; Sylvester Stallone in 1982's 'First Blood'. Credit:

Pascal Le Segretain/Getty; CBS via Getty

- James Franco will be in the *First Blood* prequel *John Rambo*. - Noah Centineo plays the titular hero in the upcoming action flick. - Franco's role will be small, but the movie marks his first big Hollywood franchise film since he was accused of sexual misconduct in 2018 in allegations he has denied.

James Franco is heading back to Hollywood.

The *127 Hours* star will appear in *John Rambo*, the upcoming prequel to the *Rambo* franchise executive-produced by original* Rambo* star Sylvester Stallone.

** has learned that Franco's role in the film will be minor, but *John Rambo* marks his first major franchise outing since his brief appearance in 2017's *Alien: Covenant*.

The actor revealed that he was working on his first "big studio movie" in nearly a decade this week at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival, telling Deadline, "It won't be ready for this summer, but my guess is it will be end of this year or spring-summer 2027."

The prequel to the *First Blood* movies stars Noah Centineo as the titular Vietnam War veteran. Directed by *Sisu* filmmaker Jalmari Helander, it will also feature *Stranger Things*' David Harbour, Yao, and Jason Tobin. It is produced by Lionsgate, Millennium Media, Templeton Media, and AGBO, and will be distributed by Lionsgate.

Noah Centineo in Las Vegas on April 16, 2026.

Chris Delmas / AFP via Getty

*John Rambo* marks Franco's biggest Hollywood project since five women — four of whom were students at an acting school that he previously ran — accused him of sexual misconduct in a 2018 *Los Angeles Times* article. Franco's representatives denied the allegations. Two of the students filed a lawsuit against the actor in 2019, which was eventually settled in 2021.

In December 2021, Franco addressed the misconduct allegations and admitted that he slept with students. "In 2018, there were some complaints about me and an article about me, and at that moment I just thought, 'I'm gonna be quiet. I'm gonna pause,'" Franco said on SiriusXM's *The Jess Cagle Podcast.* "Did not seem like the right time to say anything. There were people that were upset with me, and I needed to listen."

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Franco added that he'd "been doing a lot of work," saying, "I was in recovery before for substance abuse. There were some issues that I had to deal with that were also related to addiction. And so I've really used my recovery background to kind of start examining this and changing who I was."

Franco took a four-year break from acting after the allegations surfaced, eventually returning to the big screen in the French thriller *The Price of Money: A Largo Winch Adventure* and the Italian drama *Hey Joe*, both of which were released in 2024.

James Franco in Los Angeles on April 7, 2026.

Maya Dehlin Spach/FilmMagic

Franco has been attached himself to numerous productions over the past few years, including a Fidel Castro biopic; however, the vast majority of his post-lawsuit work has come from independent or European financing. Still, the actor rejected the idea that he's been lying low while speaking with Deadline. "It's not true I've been hiding out," he said. "I've been here the last three or four years running, selling things, and they treat me well, and I get to go and see great movies."

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When asked if he felt he'd been treated unfairly, Franco responded, "I don't know. What am I going to do? I just go forward and try to live a positive life."

Franco continued, "I just try to be the best person I can be… I think I was put on this planet to make movies. I try to make movies the best I can, and it's kinda like all I can do."

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