Sylvester Stallone is one of the greatest action stars of all time. From Rocky Balboa to John Rambo, Stallone has played some of the most recognizable characters of the last 50 years. Now, Stallone is facing a new challenge as a former superhero in Samaritan.
Stallone plays Joe Smith, an older man who collects garbage for a living in Granite City. However, Smith lives with the secret that he once used to be the superhero known as Samaritan. The superhero was thought to be dead for the last 25 years after an epic battle, but instead, it sent Samaritan in hiding. A young boy named Sam starts to question if Smith is truly Samaritan after the former hero saves him from an attack. With rising crime and the city in peril, Sam attempts to coax Samaritan out of hiding to save the city from destruction.
Starring alongside Stallone as Sam is Javon Walton, one of the breakout stars from the hit show Euphoria. Pilou Asbæk plays Cyrus, a crime lord looking to take over the city. Dascha Polanco, Moises Arias, Martin Starr, Natacha Karam, and Jared Odrick form the rest of the ensemble.
Samaritan is directed by Julius Avery, the director behind 2018’s Overlord. The film is a co-production of MGM and Stallone’s company, Balboa Productions. Samaritan is billed as a darker take on the superhero genre. The story is based on the Mythos Comics graphic novels from Marc Olivent, Renzo Podesta, and Bragi F. Schut, with the latter serving as the screenwriter as well.
Samaritan launches globally August 26 on Prime Video.