Sylvester Stallone is 76 years old, but you wouldn't know it based on his appearance and workload. Case in point, a debut trailer showcases the iconic actor in an intriguing, action-packed performance in the upcoming Amazon Prime Video superhero movie Samaritan.
The trailer for Samaritan shows Sly as an aged retired super-powered vigilante who's reluctantly drawn back into the crime-fighting game. It's a dynamic that might feel familiar at this stage of the star's career in recent role reprisals of his famous characters, notably a titular comeback in 2019's Rambo: Last Blood and a return as a sagely Rocky Balboa in the Creed movies. In this movie, however, Stallone's character is trying very hard to hide in the patch he once patrolled, the fictional Granite City, living as a garbageman named "Joe Smith." However, the hero's reclusiveness is broken by an unlikely friendship with a young boy named Sam (Euphoria and The Umbrella Academy's Javon "Wanna" Walton), who, despite a faked death, recognizes Joe as the hero called Samaritan.
As it so happens, Granite City is under siege from a wave of crime and corruption; a wave that's directly affecting the safety of the retired hero's new friend. Consequently, nay, inevitably, "Joe Smith" goes on to reclaim his former costume-wearing nom de guerre as Samaritan for a waste disposal effort of a different scale. With the hero having been presumed dead 25 years ago in a fiery battle with a villain called Nemesis, this new battle could prove to be the resurgent Samaritan's greatest test yet.
Fortunately for fans of Game of Thrones, the antagonist department will be filled by a familiar face in Pilou Asbæk, who was memorable in the final few seasons of the hit HBO series as the conniving, covetous Euron Greyjoy. Notably, Martin Starr of the Spider-Man: Homecoming Trilogy and Silicon Valley appears in the film as well.
"I love action films that also have heart," Stallone said in a recent official Amazon statement. "I wanted to be involved with Samaritan because this story has many layers that I think people can relate to. It's something of a morality tale that is also very exciting to watch. We are thrilled that this will be seen globally on Prime Video where my fans and all audiences can enjoy it together around the world."
The movie was directed by Julius Avery, who helmed the 2018 zombie-Nazis-fighting action flick Overlord. He worked off a script by Billy Ray and Mark L. Smith in an arrangement that makes this movie a reunion of the Overlord creative team. Star Sylvester Stallone also serves as a producer here.
Of course, as mentioned, Stallone is still fielding a full backlog of action films. Pertinently, many of his most recent roles involved comic book movies -- bravely jumping back into the genre fray after the box office failure of his starring role in 1995's Judge Dredd. He played the comic-crucial role of Stakar Ogord/Starhawk in 2017's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, and will possibly return for 2023's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Plus, he put in more work with Guardians director James Gunn by providing the voice of the voracious antihero King Shark in 2021's The Suicide Squad.
Samaritan premieres on Amazon Prime Video on August 26.
Source: Amazon Prime Video