Stallone to release Rambo 5 and Rocky 7 in 2010

Will Sly Stallone ever move to a different genre of cinema, or at least a different cinema at all? Three years after he made the horrendous Rambo 4, the actor-director is set to release the fifth installment, along with the sixth sequel to Rocky!

Although Rocky Balboa, which released in 2007 was well made and was a commercial and critical hit, John Rammbo (aka Rambo 4) was a brainless actioner with naked men and women getting their body parts reduced to pulp on contact with bullets. Both Rambo and Rocky have made Stallone a household name, but more of these insipid sequels will brand his turn as a cash cow instead of an iconic turn. Stallone gets philosophical as he writes:

'When I was 21 years old and at drama school. My teacher said to me, ‘If you ever put your head out there, thousands of people will try to cut it off, but that’s exactly what you need to do as an artist.’ I know it’s ludicrous and everyone would laugh. I would laugh about it. But I also know that I’d be successful if I can make this a film about becoming older, not about boxing but about myself.'

Stallone has in fact responded to fans reaction towards his previous Rambo film, and has decided to go with a new storyline. But is having an alien-monster-creature-thing in a Rambo movie really an improvement at all? According to the synopsis, in the new film Rambo will fight his way through human traffickers and drug lords to rescue a young girl abducted near the U.S.-Mexico border. And there's a predator lurking in the jungles too. Juvenile attempt at screenwriting, this. Mickey Rourke has been roped in to play the villain the Rambo 5.

Stallone is currently doing post production for 'The Expendables', an ensemble which stars Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture, Eric Roberts, Steve Austin, Mickey Rourke, with Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Stallone will begin work on Rambo 5 and Rocky 7 as soon as 'The Expendables' hits theaters.