‘Tulsa King’: How ‘Rambo’ Led Sylvester Stallone to the Taylor Sheridan Series
Taylor Sheridan cast Sylvester Stallone in Tulsa King, his latest Paramount+ series. It was actually one of Stallone’s signature characters that brought them together. Not Rocky Balboa, but Rambo started the ball rolling that became Tulsa King.
Stallone and showrunner Terrence Winter were on a Television Critics Association panel for Tulsa King on Sept. 21. Stallone explained how he first met Sheridan for a Rambo sequel, and how that evolved into Tulsa King. New episodes of Tulsa King premiere Sundays on Paramount+.
Before ‘Tulsa King,’ Sylvester Stallone wanted Taylor Sheridan to write ‘Rambo: Last Blood’
Stallone returned to the role of Vietnam veteran John Rambo in 2019’s Rambo: Last Blood. It was 11 years since his last Rambo, and ultimately Stallone co-wrote Last Blood with Matthew Cirulnick.
“It’s kind of interesting because I met Taylor a while back, actually riding horses in California,” Stallone said. “And he was just working on Sicario at the time, and I wanted him to write the screenplay for “Rambo” because I was getting lazy. Anyway, we moved on in life.”
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A Taylor Sheridan Rambo movie would’ve been awesome, though the Last Blood we got was a fitting conclusion. Rambo almost found peace at home but was drawn into violence one more time, perhaps for the last time. Or was he? The ending remained ambiguous.
Taylor Sheridan thought of Sylvester Stallone for ‘Tulsa King’
Even though Sheridan never wrote Rambo, he wanted to work with Stallone. Sheridan has a history of putting movie actors in his acclaimed TV shows, beginning with Kevin Costner in Yellowstone. The upcoming 1923 stars Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren, and The Mayor of Kingstown stars Jeremy Renner.
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“Then he became very, very successful with Yellowstone,” Stallone said. “And one day, he just had this idea, called me up, pitched it to me in like three seconds. I went, ‘I’m in.’ It was very fast.
‘Tulsa King’ doesn’t approach violence like ‘Rambo’
Stallone plays Dwight Manfredi, a former New York mobster who gets out of jail after 25 years. Dwight moves to Tulsa, Oklahoma to start over and he’s trying to avoid falling back into the life. Winter’s description of the character distinguishes him from war machine John Rambo, who was nevertheless tragic for his violent prowess.
Dwight is a very different man when he gets out of prison than he was when he went in. He’s extremely well read. He spent the last 25 years basically working out and reading every day. So he’s much more thoughtful, in a sense. He’s much more judicious in how he doles out violence. Not to say he doesn’t do it. He certainly does, but it sort of comes with an explanation and a certain reluctance. So he’s trying to be a better person, trying to put his life back together, and doing it in a way that I’ve never gotten a chance to explore before. And certainly there’s no better person to do it with and embody that than Sly.
Terrence Winter, Television Critics Association panel, 9/21/22
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