It took one of Hollywood’s biggest stars several decades to join the superhero fray, but now, Sylvester Stallone’s divisive effort is headed to free streaming. And for the pedants out there, no, we’re not counting his roles as Judge Dredd, Stakar Ogord, or King Shark as “superhero.”
Released back in 2022, Samaritan begins when thirteen-year-old Sam Cleary suspects that his mysterious and reclusive neighbor, Mr. Smith, is actually a superhero legend hiding in plain sight. Directed by Julius Avery, Samaritan stars Sylvester Stallone alongside The Umbrella Academy and Under the Bridge star Javon Walton as Sam Cleary, as well as Martin Starr (Spider-Man: Far From Home), Moisés Arias (The King of Staten Island), Dascha Polanco (In the Heights), and Pilou Asbæk (Game of Thrones). Samaritan is due to land on the free streaming platform Tubi on November 1, 2025, and you can check out the official synopsis below…
“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.”
Will We Ever See ‘Samaritan 2’?
Samaritan was met with mixed reviews from critics upon release, landing a “rotten” score of 38% on Rotten Tomatoes. Audiences, though, had a lot more fun with the Stallone-led superhero flick, with Samaritan earning 70% on the Popcornmeter. “Anchored by a solid Stallone performance, Samaritan puts a refreshingly grizzled spin on the superhero movie formula,” the audience reaction reads.
Regardless of how you felt about Samaritan, a superhero franchise has been born…though it’s taking a while to actually get here. A sequel is now in development, with Samaritan 2 now in the works at Amazon MGM Studios. Writer Bragi F. Schut is returning to write the script with Stallone returning to reprise his role as the mysterious Joe Smith. While plot details for Samaritan 2 are currently under wraps, the follow-up will no doubt pick up after the first outing’s shocking twist. Occurring during the final moments of the first movie, it’s revealed that Stallone’s character is not the titular superhero at all, but is actually the hero’s arch enemy, Nemesis, with Samaritan (who is also Nemesis’ brother) having died during their battle years earlier.
Updates on the progress on Samaritan 2 have been scarce, but we can always speculate on what might happen when Stallone’s villain-turned-hero returns. Will Samaritan 2 find Nemesis having changed his ways and taking up his fallen brother’s mantle? Or will he face a new superhero, one who’s hunting down Nemesis for his past crimes? For now, we’ll have to just wait and see.
- Release Date
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August 26, 2022
- Runtime
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101 minutes
- Director
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Julius Avery
- Writers
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Bragi F. Schut
