Stallone Says AI "Is Here to Stay," and Once Wanted It for His Own Younger Self

Sylvester Stallone says artificial intelligence is "here to stay," and he once wanted to use it to play his own younger self. He made the remarks in an interview with The Overlap, reported by The Hollywood Reporter on 22 October 2026.

Stallone spoke while discussing John Rambo, a prequel from Lionsgate. The film follows a young Rambo serving as a Green Beret in the Vietnam War. Jalmari Helander directs, and Stallone has an executive producer credit. The film is scheduled for 4 June 2027.

Stallone first pitched playing the younger Rambo himself, using AI to de-age his performance, which means using digital tools to make an older actor look younger on screen. That plan did not go ahead. Noah Centineo was cast in the role instead. Stallone said he had wanted to do "half-human, half-AI and put it together."

On the wider debate, Stallone said complaints from the creative community about AI are right, but added that "we can't stop this. It's an avalanche. It's just out of our control." He also argued that anyone who ignores the technology will lose out. "If you don't go with it, you will be trampled by it," he said.

He expects acting to become harder because of AI. He also said his actress daughter, Scarlet Rose Stallone, should consider gaming or another line of work. On likeness, he pointed to people licensing their own images. "People are selling their images. There's going to be 20 Elvis avatars," he said, adding, "This is happening."

Earlier in October, Stallone told Yahoo Finance that AI in Hollywood "makes things so much easier." He has been consistent that the tools are arriving whether the industry likes it or not.

In the same conversation, Stallone named Peter O'Toole as the best actor of all time, pointing to The Lion in Winter and Becket. He also praised Tom Hardy among today's actors. Neither comment touches on AI, but both show where he places his own craft.

For moviegoers, the practical question is how the technology will appear on screen. Stallone's comments describe a plan that was floated and then dropped, and a view of where the industry is heading. The next concrete marker is the June 2027 release date for John Rambo.