• James Franco has joined the cast of the John Rambo prequel in a small villainous role, his first big-studio part in nearly a decade.
• Noah Centineo plays a young John Rambo, with David Harbour as Major Trautman and Franco as the villain.
• Production has wrapped in Thailand; the film is expected to arrive late 2026 or spring-summer 2027.
• Franco settled a sexual misconduct lawsuit for over $2.2 million in 2021 and has largely stayed out of Hollywood since.
• Sylvester Stallone is on board as executive producer, and the Russo Brothers are also producing.

James Franco is officially back — and he’s playing the bad guy. The actor, who has been largely absent from major Hollywood productions since a sexual misconduct scandal upended his career in 2018, has joined the cast of John Rambo, the Lionsgate prequel to the classic Sylvester Stallone franchise. According to Variety, which first reported the news, Franco has a small role as a villain in the film.

The timing is hard to miss. Franco was spotted at the Cannes Film Festival this week — attending the opening ceremony with his longtime girlfriend Izabel Pakzad, then turning up at the Chopard dinner and the party for Club Kid — when he quietly hinted to Deadline’s Baz Bamigboye that he’d recently wrapped something big. “It won’t be ready for this summer,” he said, “but my guess is it will be end of this year or spring-summer 2027.” He didn’t name the film. Now we know.

He also pushed back on the narrative that he’d gone into hiding. “It’s not true I’ve been hiding out,” Franco 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.”

The Cast Coming Together Around Noah Centineo

Franco joins a cast that’s shaping up to be one of the more intriguing ensembles of next year. To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before star Noah Centineo is playing a young John Rambo — a role that will inevitably invite scrutiny, given that no one other than Stallone has ever occupied it on screen. David Harbour (Stranger Things) was recently cast as Commanding Officer Major Trautman, the role originated by the late Richard Crenna. Rounding out the ensemble are Yao (Sinners), Jason Tobin (A Thousand Blows), Quincy Isaiah (Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty), Jefferson White (Yellowstone), and Tayme Thapthimthong (The White Lotus).

Behind the camera, Finnish director Jalmari Helander — who made the relentlessly entertaining Sisu — is helming the project. The screenplay was written by Rory Haines and Sohrab Noshirvani. And the producer lineup carries some serious weight: Anthony and Joe Russo, fresh off Avengers: Doomsday, are among the executive producers, alongside Stallone himself, who is producing on a Rambo film for the first time. The franchise has grossed over $819 million worldwide, and Stallone has been involved in every chapter — contributing to scripts, directing 2008’s Rambo, and starring in all five films.

Lionsgate Motion Picture Group Chair Adam Fogelson put it plainly: “Sylvester Stallone knows the character of John Rambo better than anyone, and Lionsgate has had the good fortune of partnering with Sly for more than 20 years on this legendary IP. His participation is the final, critical piece to John Rambo.”

Franco’s Road Back to Hollywood

Before the scandal, Franco was one of the more versatile actors of his generation — the Variety exclusive notes his work in the Sam Raimi Spider-Man trilogy, The Disaster Artist, 127 Hours, and Pineapple Express. Then, in January 2018, a Los Angeles Times report detailed allegations from five women who accused him of sexual misconduct — four of them students at his now-defunct Studio 4 acting school, and one who described him as a mentor. Franco denied the specific allegations at the time. A lawsuit followed in 2019 and was settled for more than $2.2 million in 2021. Later that year, Franco admitted to sleeping with students and said his actions were “wrong.”

The fallout was swift and lasting. His friendship and working relationship with Seth Rogen — a collaborator on some of his biggest comedies — was damaged. His HBO series The Deuce wrapped its final episodes in fall 2019, and that was essentially it for major studio work. He continued acting, mostly in Italian productions, but the Hollywood door had been firmly shut.

At Cannes, Franco said he had been focused on living a “positive life” and acknowledged that the accusers had raised important issues about abuse of power within the industry — a carefully measured statement that stops short of the fuller admission some might expect, but signals he’s at least aware of what’s required to re-enter the conversation.

John Rambo doesn’t have a confirmed release date yet, and plot details beyond the origin-story premise remain under wraps. But with production wrapped in Thailand and a cast this stacked, Lionsgate clearly isn’t treating this like a gamble. Whether audiences feel the same way about Franco’s involvement is another question entirely — and one that will only get louder the closer this thing gets to release.

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• Peter Jackson received an honorary Palme d’Or at the 79th Cannes Film Festival opening ceremony on May 12
• Jackson brought his children Katie and Billy to the photo call ahead of the honor
• Jane Fonda brought Hollywood glamour while James Franco made a low-key return to the Croisette
• The jury is led by Park Chan-wook and includes Demi Moore, Chloé Zhao, and Stellan Skarsgård
• The festival runs through May 23 with a lineup heavy on international auteurs but light on Hollywood blockbusters

The 79th Cannes Film Festival got its honorary Palme d’Or moment right. Peter Jackson — the man who turned J.R.R. Tolkien’s impossible dream into three of the most beloved films ever made — touched down on the Croisette Tuesday night to accept cinema’s most prestigious honorary award, and he brought the whole family with him.

Jackson arrived at the iconic Palais des Festivals with his kids, Katie and Billy, alongside longtime collaborators Ken Kamins and Carlos Ramírez Laloli for the opening photo call. Then came the red carpet, where he flashed a thumbs up to the wall of photographers before heading inside for the ceremony ahead of the opening night film, The Electric Kiss, a French romantic comedy set in the 1920s.

The honor, per the official Cannes release, was given “in recognition of a body of work that blends Hollywood blockbusters and films d’auteur with extraordinary artistic vision and technological audacity.” Festival director Thierry Frémaux put it even more plainly when he announced the award: “There is clearly a before and an after Peter Jackson. Larger-than-life cinema is his trademark, and his all-encompassing art of entertainment is particularly ambitious. He has permanently transformed Hollywood cinema and its conception of the spectacle.”

Jackson, for his part, was gracious. “To be honoured with an Honorary Palme d’Or at Cannes is one of the greatest privileges of my career,” he said. “Cannes has been a meaningful part of my filmmaking journey. In 1988, I attended the Festival Marketplace with my first movie, Bad Taste, then in 2001 we screened a preview sequence from The Fellowship of the Ring, both of which were important milestones in my career. This festival has always celebrated bold, visionary cinema, and I’m incredibly grateful to the Festival de Cannes for being recognised among the filmmakers and the artists whose work continues to inspire me.”

A Cannes Moment That Changed Everything

That 2001 visit deserves its own paragraph. New Line Cinema had bet more than $270 million on three simultaneous films based on Tolkien — a gamble widely considered reckless at the time. Then Jackson screened 26 minutes of footage from The Fellowship of the Ring for the Cannes press, and the skeptics went quiet.

Ian McKellen, who played Gandalf, was there and wrote about it on his blog afterward: “With relief and some excitement I can report that Peter Jackson’s images not only look convincing, they look stunning.” New Line then threw one of the most legendary parties in festival history — up on a hill at the Château Castellaras, where, according to the fan site TheOneRing.net, “Orcs, hobbits, elves and men were dancing wildly to French versions of ‘Oh What a Night’ and the latest Latin offerings,” before a massive Bilbo Baggins birthday cake floated through the crowd to a “strange/disturbing version of Happy Birthday.”

Twenty-five years later, the man who made all of that happen is getting his flowers. It was a long time coming.

The Rest of the Opening Night Crowd

Jackson wasn’t the only headline on the carpet. Jane Fonda showed up in a shimmering black dress and a bejeweled necklace that looked like it could’ve been borrowed from the set of Titanic — she brought the Hollywood star power that this year’s lineup has otherwise been lacking. Diego Luna, also in attendance, was spotted huddling in the lobby with his Y tu mamá también director Alfonso Cuarón before the ceremony began.

And then there was James Franco. The actor, whose career was derailed by allegations of sexually inappropriate behavior, appeared on the Croisette alongside Jordan Firstman, star of I Love LA, whose feature Club Kid is playing at the festival. Franco’s presence was low-key — the wall of photographers’ flashing cameras reportedly went dark for long stretches during the opening ceremony — but his attendance was noted.

The jury assembled for photos earlier in the day: Park Chan-wook serves as president, with Demi Moore (wearing Jacquemus with Hassanzadeh London jewelry), Chloé Zhao, Stellan Skarsgård, Ruth Negga, Laura Wandel, Isaach de Bankolé, and Diego Céspedes rounding out the group.

A Festival Feeling the Pressure

This is also Thierry Frémaux’s 25th edition at the helm of Cannes — a tenure that’s survived streaming wars, a pandemic, and no shortage of political turbulence. But the energy on the Croisette this year feels different. Hollywood studios are pulling back from big festival splurges, AI anxiety is hanging over every creative conversation, and the absence of major blockbusters is hard to miss.

There had been real hope that Christopher Nolan might bring The Odyssey or Steven Spielberg might arrive with Disclosure Day — neither happened. Previous editions had Tom Cruise premiering Mission: Impossible sequels and Harrison Ford unveiling Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. This year, Cannes is leaning into its arthouse identity, with Pedro Almodóvar’s Bitter Christmas, Paweł Pawlikowski’s Fatherland, and Cristian Mungiu’s Fjord carrying the competition weight.

Whether that’s a pivot or just a down year depends on who you ask. But watching Peter Jackson take that stage Tuesday night — thumbs up, kids in tow, the spirit of Middle-earth somehow present on the French Riviera — it was hard to argue that Cannes had lost its magic entirely.

The festival runs through May 23.

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