As you may have heard, there's another Rambo sequel coming January 25th, starring and co-written/directed by Sylvester Stallone. IMDb lists a variety of considered titles for the movie, including Rambo IV: End of Peace (eh), Rambo IV: Holy War (it rhymes), and Rambo IV: Pearl of the Cobra (hilarious). Most recently it was called Rambo IV: In the Serpent's Eye -- obviously the greatest title in action movie history -- but maybe that sounded a bit too direct-to-DVD. So they changed it again. Following the success of Rocky Balboa (which I absolutely loved), the title switched to John Rambo. I'm all about that simple name title -- it brings a touch of restraint and class to a movie I'm fairly certain will have neither. "This January...spend Martin Luther King Day with an old friend...John Rambo." Perfect. Done. But no. They've scrapped the title yet again!

Now the movie is called Rambo to Hell and Back. I agree with Josh over at Cinema Blend that the title doesn't really work without a colon. Rambo to Hell and Back just isn't a complete thought. Titles like Ernest to Camp or Ernest to Jail don't make sense, you have to put a verb in there somewhere. I guess they're not using the word "Goes" (as in Rambo Goes to Hell and Back) because it would be to close to Jason Goes To Hell: The Final Friday (which, it is worth pointing out, was not the final Friday). But how about something like Rambo Rocks It to Hell and Back? Or Rambo Blows Dudes' Heads Up All the Way to Hell and Back? Too long? Not to worry, it easily abbreviates to RBDHUATWTHAB. Oh well. Never mind that Stallone looks like a 'roided up Liza Minnelli in the movie. No matter what they call it, all the Serpents, Cobras, and Holy Wars in the world couldn't keep me from seeing this film. I'd...to hell and back in order to see the thing.

UPDATE: Sly Stallone says he's staying with John Rambo after folks bashed this new title. Read all about it over on AICN.

If you've been counting the months, weeks, hours, minutes and even seconds until you get a fresh helping of John Rambo, your wish is getting much closer to being fulfilled. According to Variety, filming is scheduled to being this month in Thailand on Rambo IV: Pearl of the Cobra -- the latest, and presumably final, chapter in the Rambo saga.

The article is also reporting that in addition to Sylvester Stallone's return as the title character, the film's supporting cast, which already includes James Brolin, Bruno Campos and the terrific Kim Dickens, has expanded by at least one more with the addition of up-and-comer Matt Marsden. Marsden, fresh from roles in DOA: Dead or Alive and the upcoming Resident Evil: Extinction, will play a mercenary in the film who works closely with Stallone's Rambo to accomplish whatever life-or-death mission he happens to be on at the moment.

Speaking of life-or-death missions. In cases you don't know for some reason, the plot of this latest Rambo film, which has undergone many revisions -- as our own Mark Beall reported before -- and title changes, including Rambo IV: Holy War and the more prophetic Rambo IV: End of Peace, involves Rambo working with Christian missionaries to protect them against pirates. Yes, pirates. Perhaps Stallone is looking to cash in on some of the business generated by those other pirate movies? They made a few bucks at the box office so if he is, that's not necessarily a bad idea.