It has been a little more than a decade since Sylvester Stallone got some of the biggest action stars of yesterday and today together for the over-the-top and raucous spectacle that was The Expendables. Two sequels quickly followed in the years following, and it looked like The Expendables 4 wouldn’t be all that far behind. But as is often the case in Hollywood, plans fell through and fans were left waiting and waiting for Barney Ross (Stallone), Lee Christmas (Jason Statham), and the rest of the wild bunch to get back action.
Well, after a long, seven-year wait, The Expendables 4 is finally happening, and we have a whole arsenal of information about what you can expect to see when the successful action franchise returns to theaters in the very near future…
After Years Of Planning, Production On The Expendables 4 Finally Started In Fall 2021
It has been seven years since The Expendables 4 was first announced (when Pierce Brosnan told ShortList he was offered a role), and a lot has happened during that stretch of time. In the past five years alone, the project has seen the departures of major stars from earlier entries in the franchise (including Sylvester Stallone himself) and other issues that made it seem as if the movie was dead before it even had a chance to live. But then in May 2018, The Expendables 4 was given new life, and has been slowly building momentum ever since.
In October 2021, the movie became all the more real when production officially kicked off on The Expendables 4. To mark the momentous occasion, Sylvester Stallone did what the box office champion has made of habit of doing the past few years: he posted a series of pictures on his Instagram that showed him looking like an absolute badass on a motorcycle as well as some behind-the-scenes shots of himself with two longtime on-screen pals: Dolph Lundgren and Jason Statham.
The Expendables 4 Cast Includes Returning Stars Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren And Randy Couture
In August 2021, longtime fans of The Expendables franchise were given some of the biggest news in recent memory when it was revealed that not only was a new movie in the works, but four of the major stars who made the series such a hit in the first place were returning. According to Deadline, Sylvester Stallone will be returning as Barney Ross, Jason Statham is taking on Lee Christmas once more, Dolph Lundgren is back as Gunner Jensen, and Randy Couture will be there once again as Toll Road.
It remains to be seen if any of the four leads’ co-stars from previous adventures will be returning for The Expendables 4, but with the franchise’s history of bringing some of the biggest giants from the silver screen in for some action, you can’t count anyone out.
Megan Fox, 50 Cent, Andy Garcia And Tony Jaa Are Also Set To Join The Expendables 4 Cast
But the fearsome foursome won’t be alone when The Expendables 4 opens in theaters at some point in the near future, as they will be joined by a group of new additions to the franchise. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Megan Fox, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, Andy Garcia, and Tony Jaa will all be joining Sylvester Stallone and company in the franchise’s fourth installment. None of the series newcomers’ character names have been revealed at this time, though Garcia will be playing a CIA agent who accompanies the Expendables on their latest mission.
Megan Fox shared behind-the-scenes photos of her Expendables 4 character in October 2021 but the former Transformers and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles star didn’t provide an ounce of information about her character besides the fact she looks like a badass.
The Expendables 4 Is Helmed By Stuntman-Turned-Actor Scott Waugh
The first three installments in the The Expendables franchise were led by a different director (Sylvester Stallone, Simon West, and Patrick Hughes), and that trend will continue with the fourth movie in the action saga. In August 2021, The Hollywood Reporter revealed that The Expendables 4 would be helmed by Scott Waugh, the younger brother of Greenland director Ric Roman Waugh. The younger Waugh brother, who previously performed stunts on everything from xXx to Speed and dozens of other movies, turned to directing after hanging up his boots.
Scott Waugh’s previous directing credits include Act of Valor, Need for Speed, 6 Below: Miracle on the Mountain, and the upcoming Jackie Chan movie Project X-Traction.
The Expendables 4 Was Written By Spenser Cohen
For the first time in the franchise’s history, Sylvester Stallone was not responsible for putting together the story or screenplay behind The Expendables 4, though he was seen in an October 2021 Instagram post making some changes to a scene. This time around, Spenser Cohen put together the script with Max Adams and John Joseph Connolly providing some revisions along the way, according to Entertainment Weekly.
And though Spenser Cohen’s name might not sound all that familiar at this time, there’s a good chance he’ll be one of the higher profile action scribes going forward especially since he co-wrote Roland Emmerich’s highly-anticipated space thriller Moonfall starring Halle Berry, which is slated to open February 4, 2022.
No details concerning the plot of The Expendables 4 have been revealed at this time.
Producer Jason Constantine Has Called The Expendables 4 The ‘Biggest, Most Badass Adventure Yet’
Since the very beginning, the Expendables franchise has always been an over-the-top thrill ride of a franchise with countless explosions, boxes of bullets, and random soldiers and henchmen getting wiped out like it’s nobody’s business. And it looks like that trend will continue with the fourth installment, especially with the following comments made by Jason Constantine, Lionsgate Motion Picture Group’s president of acquisitions and co-productions and one of the film’s producers in a statement (via Variety):
It’s so much fun to bring these stars together for a no-holds-barred action film. The new film will raise the stakes and be the biggest, most badass adventure yet.
That is quite a lofty statement considering all the crazy stuff that has gone down in the first three movies in the Expendables franchise, but sign us up for anything and everything that goes down.
There is still a lot we don’t quite know about The Expendables 4 at this time, most notably where it will fall on the schedule of 2022 new movie releases, but with production in full swing we can expect to hear more soon. In the meantime, check out CinemaBlend’s list of all the 2021 movies coming to theaters and streaming services before the end of the year.
- Take a look at our rundown of Sylvester Stallone's most badass movies.
- Or this article about how The Expendables was nearly a direct-to-video release.
