David Harbour has joined the cast of John Rambo and will play Major Trautman in the Lionsgate prequel now filming in Bangkok, Thailand. Noah Centineo stars as John Rambo in the movie, which is being directed by Jalmari Helander and will be distributed by Lionsgate.
Major Trautman is the commanding officer of the titular soldier, a role Richard Crenna made famous opposite Sylvester Stallone in First Blood, Rambo: First Blood Part II and Rambo III. Crenna died in 2003, and Harbour is stepping into a part that sits at the center of the franchise’s early history as the new film takes audiences back years before the events of First Blood.
The casting gives John Rambo another direct link to the series’ original run. Stallone first played John Rambo in 1982’s First Blood, then returned in 2019 for Rambo: Last Blood, and signed on as an executive producer for the new film last month. The prequel is based on David Morrell’s 1972 novel and is set up as an origin story tracing the roots and experiences that forged the character.
That makes Harbour’s role more than a familiar name in a new cast. He is taking on the officer who helped define Rambo on screen, while the franchise reaches back to its beginnings with a new lead, a new director and a production that is already underway in Thailand.
