Sylvester Stallone And Javon 'Wanna' Walton Engage In Explosive Action In The New 'Samaritan' Trailer

In an Incredibles-like storyline, Sylvester Stallone makes his appearance as Joe Smith, a retired superhero of 25 years written down in history as the Samaritan, in Amazon Prime Video’s original film of the same name. The trailer was released on July 27, 2022, and since then, it has racked up over 2.5 million views. The film releases on Prime Video on August 26, 2022. Along with Stallone, Euphoria’s Javon ‘Wanna’ Walton stars as the 13-year-old Sam Cleary who discovers that Stallone is the legendary superhero, Deadline reports. 

Set in the fictional city of Granite City, amidst lofty infrastructure and crime, Samaritan sees Stallone’s Joe making an honest living, working as a garbage man hiding in plain sight. To pass the time, he collects little precious trinkets, a hobby that seems to sustain him. However, the equilibrium is disturbed when Walton’s character Sam is attacked in an alley and Joe saves him. This inspires a complete shift because Sam is absolutely obsessed with Samaritan, a superhero who allegedly (we know he didn’t) died 25 years ago. Seeing all his dreams come true, Sam follows Joe around. 

While Stallone’s character denies it initially, a hit-and-run incident that ends up with Joe's bones snapping back into place (it’s giving Venom) confirms what Sam was thinking. Taking it upon himself, Sam decides to coax Samaritan out of hiding to don his suit again. Seeing a new crime lord making himself comfortable in the city, Joe doesn’t see a reason to say no anymore. 

Speaking to Collider about his lessons from the film, Walton said, “Somebody who’s definitely helped me improve was working with Sly [Stallone] on Samaritan. That was definitely somebody who taught me the importance of improv and keeping it super natural.” However, work was not the only thing they bonded over. “We talked about boxing, all the time,” he gushed, excitedly. “Really, just the fact that we were gonna be able to talk about boxing all the time was something that I was really excited about because I haven’t really been able to talk boxing with people. Talking [sic] boxing with him was definitely the best part. Working with him was fun.” 

Stallone has taken up many action hero characters, the most popular of them being Rocky, a film series that still resonates with audiences. The unforgettable Rambo series and most recently, the Creed series, have made this film an extremely familiar ground for Stallone to root himself in. 

The feature from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Balboa Productions, based on Bragi F. Schut’s script, also stars Pilou Asbæk (Uncharted), Dascha Polanco (Gordita Chronicles), Moises Arias (Jockey), and more. Stallone and Braden Aftergood produced, with Schut, David Kern, Adam Rosenberg, and Guy Riedel serving as executive producers.

Samaritan can be streamed on Prime Video from August 26, 2022.