History Trivia / Rambo

* TheWikiRule: [[http://rambo.wikia.com/wiki/Rambo_Wiki The Rambo Wiki]].

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Stallone also wavered a bit on whether he would be part of the TV series about Rambo mentoring his son, before ultimately opting out.

* ActorSharedBackground: Richard Crenna playing military character relates to Crenna having served in the military in real life during World War II.

** Trautman died off screen in the fourth movie because Creator/SylvesterStallone felt it wouldn't feel right replacing the late Richard Crenna. As he himself put it: "Trautman died the day my friend Richard died."

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: Parts II & III especially, due to their late UsefulNotes/ColdWar setting. Even the fourth movie is showing signs of this, with Myanmar slowly but surely opening up politically.

* TheCharacterDiedWithHim: Trautman died off screen in the fourth movie because Creator/SylvesterStallone felt it wouldn't feel right replacing the late Richard Crenna. As he himself put it: "Trautman died the day my friend Richard died."

* FakeRussian: Both Podovsky and Zaysen were played by an Englishman (Creator/StevenBerkoff) and a French (Marc de Jonge), respectively.

* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Rambo is [[http://mentalfloss.com/article/64286/16-things-you-might-not-know-about-rambo partially based on]] Creator/AudieMurphy, one of the most decorated soldiers of the Second World War. In particular, the infamous "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZeDq4Yo6Jk .50 caliber scene]]" from ''Film/RamboIV'' is based on a real-life incident in which Murphy hijacked a damaged German tank's machine gun emplacement and single-handedly held off some fifty advancing enemy troops. Murphy was even considered at various points for the roles of both Rambo and Trautman, but turned them down due to fears of frightening his young fanbase.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
** One of the original plot ideas for the fourth film involved Rambo returning to Afghanistan and [[TheWarOnTerror taking on the Taliban]] this time around.
** Sylvester Stallone was working on a script for a fifth Rambo movie, which would have featured the titular hero going into Mexico to rescue a teenage girl who had been kidnapped by the northern drug cartels, with the ominous title "Last Blood." But after the success of ''Film/TheExpendables'' the project was scrapped so that Stallone could focus on the sequels for that franchise.
*** It appears that project has been SavedFromDevelopmentHell with ''Film/RamboLastBlood''.
** Stallone also wavered a bit on whether he would be part of the TV series about Rambo mentoring his son, before ultimately opting out.

** One of the original plot ideas for the fourth film involved Rambo going to Afghanistan and taking on the Taliban.

* In Japan, where ''{{Rambo}}'' was indeed very popular, the word "rambo" can be translated as "senseless violence"

* FakeRussian: Both Podovsky and Zaysen were played by an Englishman (Steven Berkoff) and a French (Marc de Jonge), respectively.

!!Other trivia:
* In Taiwan, any knife with a serrated blade back has come to be called a "Rambo Knife".
* Rambo is in fact named after a US Postal Service worker, who also went on to cultivate a type of apple that now bears his name.
** His first name comes from the war song "When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again".
* Warhammer 40K has a homage to Rambo in the form of a special character for the Imperial Guard. His name? 'Sly Marbo'.

* HeyItsThatGuy:
** One of the deputies in FirstBlood went on to [[Series/CSIMiami head a forensics team in Miami.]]
** Ericson in RFBII [[TheKarateKid runs a karate dojo in Recita and teaches his students "Mercy is for the weak"]].
** The hot blonde missionary in ''Rambo'' was a [[Series/{{Angel}} vampire]], the [[Series/{{Dexter}} wife of a serial killer]], and a [[{{Series/Defiance}} town mayor in a future semi-terraformed Earth]].
** Lewis, one of the mercs in ''Rambo'' was [[Series/RedDwarf "Nicey" Akerman]].
** [[Film/{{Octopussy}} Orlov]] was demoted to a lieutenant colonel and assumed a new identity.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Sylvester Stallone was working on a script for a fifth Rambo movie, which would have featured the titular hero going into Mexico to rescue a teenage girl who had been kidnapped by the northern drug cartels. But after the success of ''Film/TheExpendables'' the project was scrapped so that Stallone could focus on the sequels for that franchise.

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: Parts II & III especially, due to their late ColdWar setting. Even the fourth movie is showing signs of this, with Myanmar slowly but surely opening up politically.

** One of the deputies in FirstBlood went on to [[CSIMiami head a forensics team in Miami.]]

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Sylvester Stallone was working on a script for a fifth Rambo movie, which would have featured the titular hero going into Mexico to rescue a teenage girl who had been kidnapped by the northern drug cartels. But after the success of ''TheExpendables'' the project was scrapped so that Stallone could focus on the sequels for that franchise.

* BannedInChina:
** The third movie was [[BannedInChina banned in the USSR]] (the ban was lifted very quickly because of TheGreatPoliticsMessUp). The fourth is, unsurprisingly, banned in Burma.
** Also unsurprisingly, the fourth movie is very popular among the Karen Rebels in Burma. The film's catch phrase "Live for nothing or die for something" has actually become a rallying cry for the rebels.

* RealLife/MeanCharacterNiceActor: Maung Maung Khin, who played the bloodthirsty Burmese Major Pa Tee Tint in ''Rambo 4'', was actually worried that his family would be murdered if he took the part.
* NamesTheSame: Part II has Marshall Murdock. The film was made at the same time a [[Series/TheATeam famous tv-show also about the Vietnam war]] was running that also had a character named Murdock; the writers probably named Marshall Murdock after him. In addition, Charles Napier, who played the Marshall in Rambo, even appeared on ''The A-Team'' twice.
* PropRecycling: The Hind gunships (sans the fake front fuselages), as well as the KLMK jackets and the TanksButNoTanks Soviet equipment from the third movie were all reused from ''Film/RedDawn1984''.
* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
** Creator/DustinHoffman was the first choice for John Rambo with MikeNichols directing. He turned down the role because he felt the script was too violent. Actually, just about every Hollywood A-lister was considered for the role at one time or another (it was in DevelopmentHell for years). And '''Kirk Douglas''' was attached to direct at one point.
** Kirk Douglas was actually cast as Colonel Trautman for a little while, but he walked off the set and Richard Crenna was called in to replace him due to disagreements with the director and producers over the film's ending. The DVD extras of ''First Blood'' contain marketing stills of Kirk Douglas wearing Trautman's signature uniform.
** Sylvester Stallone was working on a script for a fifth Rambo movie, which would have featured the titular hero going into Mexico to rescue a teenage girl who had been kidnapped by the northern drug cartels. But after the success of ''TheExpendables'' the project was scrapped so that Stallone could focus on the sequels for that franchise.

* BannedInChina: The third movie was [[BannedInChina banned in the USSR]] (the ban was lifted very quickly because of TheGreatPoliticsMessUp). The fourth is, unsurprisingly, banned in Burma.

* NamesTheSame: Part II has Marshall Murdock. The film was made at the same time a [[Series/TheATeam famous tv-show also about the Vietnam war]] was running that also had a character named Murdock.
** The writers probably named Marshall Murdock after him.
** In addition, Charles Napier, who played the Marshall in Rambo, even appeared on ''The A-Team'' twice.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: DustinHoffman was the first choice for John Rambo with MikeNichols directing. He turned down the role because he felt the script was too violent.
** Actually, just about every Hollywood A-lister was considered for the role at one time or another (it was in DevelopmentHell for years). And '''Kirk Douglas''' was attached to direct at one point.
*** And speaking of Kirk Douglas, he was actually cast as Colonel Trautman for a little while, but he walked off the set and Richard Crenna was called in to replace him due to disagreements with the director and producers over the film's ending. The DVD extras of ''First Blood'' contain marketing stills of Kirk Douglas wearing Trautman's signature uniform.

** The hot blonde missionary in ''Rambo'' was a [[Series/{{Angel}} vampire]], the [[Series/{{Dexter}} wife of a serial killer]], and a [[Series/Defiance town mayor in a future semi-terraformed Earth]].