‘The Expendables’ Are Officially Returning In a New Film
It was recently teased by Sylvester Stallone on his personal Instagram page and now it’s official: The Expendables are returning for a new film.
(For a group of guys who are supposedly expendable, this sure is a durable franchise.)
According to a Lionsgate press release, original cast members Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture, and Stallone “will all reprise their roles as Lee Christmas, Gunner Jensen, Toll Road, and Barney Ross respectively.” The new members of the cast include Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, Megan Fox, and Tony Jaa.
This will be the first Expendables movie since 2014’s The Expendables 3, which had a disappointing run at the box office compared to the series’ first two films. In Stallone’s Instagram post, he described this movie as a spinoff (with the clever subtitle A Christmas Story). The press release doesn’t categorize the film as a spinoff or a sequel; it only says that it continues the Expendables “saga” and will “once again reunite the world’s top action stars for an all-new film.”
If this really is more of a spinoff, that could explain why the new film only features a few of the actors from the earlier Expendables, which distinguished themselves from the competition in the action genre by cramming as many big-name stars into each entry as possible. The first Expendables trilogy included appearances by action stalwarts like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Harrison Ford, Antonio Banderas, Jet Li, Wesley Snipes, and others.
Of course, Lionsgate could always announce later that some or all of those names will be back in this fourth installment. This new Expendables will be directed by a new filmmaker as well: Scott Waugh, who previously directed Need for Speed and Act of Valor. No release date has been announced, but production is scheduled to begin this fall.