Rambo (also known as Rambo IV and John Rambo) is a 2008 American action film directed, and co-written by Sylvester Stallone. It is the fourth installment in the Rambo film series. The film stars Stallone, Julie Benz, Paul Schulze, Matthew Marsden, Graham McTavish, Rey Gallegos, Tim Kang, Jake La Botz, Maung Maung Khin, and Ken Howard. The film is dedicated to Richard Crenna, who played Colonel Sam Trautman in the previous films, and who died of heart failure in 2003.
The rights to the Rambo series were sold to Miramax in 1997 after Carolco Pictures went bankrupt. Miramax intended to produce a fourth film but Stallone was unmotivated to reprise the role. The rights were then sold to Nu Image and Millennium Films in 2005, who green-lit the film before the release of Rocky Balboa. Filming began in January 2007 in Thailand, Mexico, and the United States and ended in May 2007.