Retired Rebel Soldier to Play Villain in John Rambo
Filed under: Action, Drama, Casting, Newsstand, Remakes and Sequels
We knew he'd be casting locals for the next installment in his Rambo franchise, John Rambo, but apparently Sylvester Stallone wants this film to be as realistic as possible. According to a Reuters story, a retired rebel soldier from the jungles of eastern Myanmar has been cast to play a brutal Burmese officer in the pic, due out next year. 40 year-old Sai Mawng is an ex-guerrilla from the Shan State Army; he "speaks Burmese fluently and looks nasty enough," so says one of his close friends.
300 applicants originally turned out to audition for the part, which asked for a "Burmese male, 32-40, military-looking man, character face, unlikeable." I assume Mawng looks unlikeable enough; let's just hope he doesn't snap during one of his scenes -- re-living some of those nasty past memories -- and annihilate the entire crew. This time around, John Rambo comes out of retirement for one last mission: to locate a group of missionary aid workers who have disappeared into the jungles of Myanmar ... and, in the end, kick a whole lot of ass.
Apart from the casting of a real-life retired rebel soldier, a bunch of Shan refugees and migrants have been cast as Burmese soldiers in the flick, with each being paid a whopping 300 baht ($8.50) per day for their work. Granted, I'm sure that's a nice chunk of change for these guys, but it is a bit, um, cheap. Also starring alongside Stallone will be James Brolin, Bruno Campos, Kim Dickens and Matt Marsden. Production is currently underway.
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