Sylvester Stallone’s action epic The Expendables is quickly becoming one of the most exciting projects on the horizon. At the same time, when you gather together so many talented people in one picture, problems are bound to happen. Unfortunately the first bad news surrounding The Expendables has come about. Thankfully, it’s not that bad, and only a problem due to scheduling, not because of any egos or other likely problems.

AICN reports that scheduling issues have pushed Forest Whitaker out of The Expendables. Shooting has been delayed on the action flick, holding things up for about a month. That is putting Whitaker into a conflict with another picture he had previously committed to, so he’s had to exit Stallone’s picture.

As disappointing as the news is that Whitaker has had to bow out is the rumor of his possible replacement. The site says they’ve heard Curtis Jackson - aka 50 Cent - has been cast in the role Whitaker originally held. I can’t claim to be up on 50 Cent’s acting chops, and he certainly isn’t on par with Whitaker, but this is a movie of bad-asses doing what they do best. Jackson certainly has the potential to do that, and bring a whole other audience into theaters.

Both Whitaker’s departure and 50 Cent as his replacement are unconfirmed by the studio right now, but we’ll keep an eye open for the official announcement of either one of these bits.