Sylvester Stallone has revealed that he almost quit Rambo due to the original ending.
Speaking in the Netflix documentary Sly, Stallone opened up about how he nearly didn't star as one of his most iconic characters after he threatened to quit First Blood permanently.
According to Stallone, he was prepared to walk away from the movie after becoming upset at what was in store for John Rambo in the planned ending.
"At the very end, originally the way it was in the script, I am shot by Colonel Trautman and I die in slow motion," Stallone said.
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Troubled by how the script ended, Stallone said he spoke with director Ted Kotcheff to voice his concerns, as he believed the move would be insensitive to Vietnam War veterans.
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"I said to the director, 'This is not good.' I don't want everyone who is a Vietnam vet to see this film and [see] me shot and realise, 'Oh, so there's no hope for me at all. None.'"
Recalling the tough situation, Stallone said he was screamed at by people in production who told him if he didn't return to the movie, he would be in breach of contract.
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However, Stallone said he put his foot down, saying: "At that time, they were losing 20,000 vets to suicide a month. I said, 'I don't want to be part of it. I don't. I'm not going to.'"
Following a disastrous test screening in Las Vegas, Stallone eventually got what he wanted and the ending was changed to the one we all know.
First Blood opened to mixed reviews but went on to become a box office success and Stallone has since reprised the role of John Rambo in four more movies, most recently starring in the 2019 movie Rambo: Last Blood.
Reporter, Digital Spy
Harriet is a freelance news writer specialising in TV and movies at Digital Spy.
A horror enthusiast, she joined Digital Spy after working on her own horror website, reviewing films and focusing largely on feminism in the genre.
In her spare time, Harriet paints and produces mixed-media art. She graduated from the University of Kingston with a BA in fine art, where she specialised in painting. She also has an MA in journalism from Birkbeck University.
