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The Expendables 4: Plot, Cast, and Everything Else We Know
The fourth installment in the action-packed Expendables franchise is set to release later this year. Here's everything we know about the film so far.
An homage to the thrill-a-minute action movies of the 1980s and '90s, The Expendables 4 is following off the release of the previous entry in the franchise as another film packed with ride-or-die excitement and spectacle. From its cast to the crew to projected release windows, we know quite a few details about this film, and quite a bit we do not.
The Expendables 4 will be directed by Scott Waugh, best known for directing the 2012 war film Act of Valor alongside Mike McCoy. Waugh is the replacement for Patrick Hughes, who directed the third installment in The Expendables franchise and is known for the film The Hitman’s Bodyguard and its sequel, The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard. Directors aside, the film’s screenplay was a joint effort between Spenser Cohen —who is also responsible for the film’s story — and Max Adams, who has worked with numerous film production studios throughout her career.
On the side of production, The Expendables 4 is being handled by Lionsgate — also responsible for distribution — Millennium Films and Vértice Cine. The latter studio announced involvement back in August 2020. Following that year, principal photography for the film commenced in September 2021. By October 2021, Sylvester Stallone had announced via social media that he had finished shooting his portion of scenes for the film.
Let’s cover everything else we know so far about the movie.
Little is known of what The Expendable 4’s plot will contain, as details, both minor and major, have been kept close to the chests of anyone involved in the film’s production. All we’ve been given is a very brief synopsis of what forces Ross and his mercenary gang will square up against: an arms dealer who commands the might of a massive private army.
The arms dealer in question will most likely be played by Iwo Uwais. Whatever further details are unveiled, audiences should go in expecting a fare much like the previous entries in the franchise, that of an action-packed adventure where Ross and company set out to show some baddies what-for.
The Expendables 4 will feature actors familiar to the franchise and quite a few new faces. Like previously released films in the franchise, Sylvester Stallone’s character of Barney Ross will take center stage as the leader of The Expendables mercenary band. Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, and Randy Couture will also be returning as key members of Ross’s entourage.
However, fans should be made aware that this is reportedly going to be Stallone’s final major contribution to The Expendables franchise. Born initially from collaborations between Stallone and screenwriter/producer David Callaham, these films will be left in the hands of Jason Statham, who will reportedly lead all future excursions for the battle-hardened gang.
As for fresh faces to the franchise, a number of actors have been cast in yet-to-be-identified roles. This includes the likes of Megan Fox (Jennifer’s Body, Transformers franchise), former boxer and strongman Eddie Hall, Andy García (The Untouchables, Ocean’s Eleven), and rapper Curtis Jackson, better known as 50 Cent. Tony Jaa, Sheila Shah, Jacob Scipio, and Levy Tran have also been cast. And perhaps most importantly, fight choreographer, stuntman, and martial artist Iwo Uwais has been cast in the lead villain role.
Before finally hitting the track running for a projected 2023 release, The Expendables 4 had a pretty messy production cycle, with proposed deadlines not being hit and key cast members leaving the project. The earliest news we’d heard of a fourth Expendables film was back in 2014, with an announced release window of 2018. Creative differences and behind-the-scenes issues were most likely the cause for these previous plans bearing little fruit.
Most noticeably, Stallone exited the film’s production in 2017. Disagreements over the franchise's future and the direction of the fourth film, in particular, were cited as major reasons for the departure. Interesting to note is that Stallone had expressed interest in bringing Jack Nicholson on board to play the main villain and having Clint Eastwood involved.
Whether these were actual goals or merely ideas being thrown around is unclear, but whatever the case may be, neither panned out. It is unknown if these could have contributed to the differences in opinion between Stallone and the rest of the cast and crew, but we cannot completely rule them out.
After that rocky period of the film’s production, Stallone announced his return to the series following a vocal cry for him to come back (with Arnold Schwarzenegger being among the voices in that crowd). However, as previously mentioned, this film will remain Stallone’s final contribution to the franchise unless future developments arise. This could most likely be attributed to Stallone simply wishing to move on from the films and leave them in Statham's hands.
And as always have a chilled day from the Viking
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