Samaritan Trailer: A Superpowered Sylvester Stallone Comes Out Of Retirement

Long before superhero movies ever came close to wielding as much influence on global audiences as they do now, viewers made do with an assortment of steroid-injected, distinctly-accented (and slightly overcompensating) action stars in the mold of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Dolph Lundgren, and particularly Sylvester Stallone. As the closest thing we had to actual superheroes, those absurdly over-the-top movies of the '80s leaned as hard as they possibly could into their leading men's musclebound physiques, adding a cinematic sheen to various franchises whose niche is now filled by films set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe or its DC counterpart.

Over 20 years after director M. Night Shyamalan first turned action hero Bruce Willis into a genuine superhero in "Unbreakable," it's now Sylvester Stallone's turn to step back into the spotlight and show all these spandex-wearing whippersnappers how it's really done. "Samaritan" features Stallone in the role of the eponymous superhero, though now long past his prime and presumed dead to the world at large. Now content to work thankless hours as a garbage collector, his next-door neighbor's unlikely moment of recognition forces the retired superhero to come to terms with his own legacy and actually consider making his grand return to the public eye.

Is this premise pretty much an extremely blunt metaphor for the "Rocky" and "Rambo" actor's own fabled career? Basically! Check out the brand-new trailer for "Samaritan" below.

"Samaritan" is written by Bragi F. Schut ("Ninjago," "Escape Room," the upcoming "Last Voyage of the Demeter") and directed by Julius Avery, the filmmaker best known for the gruesome zombie/war film mash-up "Overlord" and the Ewan McGregor-starring "Son of a Gun." Stallone stars as Joe Smith (aka fabled superhero Samaritan), one-half of the buddy duo formed by teenage actor Javon "Wanna" Walton ("Euphoria," "The Umbrella Academy"). The rest of the cast includes Pilou Asbæk (of "Game of Thrones" fame), Dascha Polanco, and Moises Arias.

"Samaritan" will premiere exclusively on Prime Video streaming on August 26, 2022.

Thirteen-year-old Sam Cleary (Javon "Wanna" Walton) suspects that his mysterious and reclusive neighbor Mr. Smith (Sylvester Stallone) is actually a legend hiding in plain sight. Twenty years ago, Granite City's super-powered vigilante, Samaritan, was reported dead after a fiery warehouse battle with his rival, Nemesis. Most believe Samaritan perished in the fire, but some in the city, like Sam, have hope that he is still alive. With crime on the rise and the city on the brink of chaos, Sam makes it his mission to coax his neighbor out of hiding to save the city from ruin.