There was once a time when Sylvester Stallone, Wesley Snipes, Jason Statham and a lot of other badasses gathered to make blockbuster action movies together. Much as The Avengers became the franchise for those who liked to bond over comic book action, The Expendables allowed folks to bro out to action stars of the past and present. And as you’ll see in the throwback footage shared by Stallone himself, those days must have been a hell of a time.
Clearly missing the days of The Expendables series, Sylvester Stallone shared a fun video from the set of The Expendables 3 on his Instagram. It’s pretty jam-packed with everyone and anyone you could think of who starred in the 2014 entry to this particular series. Which means that yes, you’ll get to see Harrison Ford hanging out with the boys while watching the video included below:
Seriously, how awesome is it to see Sly on set with Antonio Banderas, Mel Gibson, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jason Statham?! It’s practically a class photo for The Expendables 3, and everyone looks pretty jazzed to be a part of the moment. Even the sometimes cantankerous Harrison Ford is all smiles; the energy is that infectious.
Of course, the centerpiece of it all is the fact that this throwback to those simpler days reminds us that 2010’s The Expendables was a pretty historic moment in action cinema history. For the first time, Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger, two titans once engaged in a bit of an historic rivalry, worked together for the fans. With that mythic conflict at an end, the sky was the limit for who they could get to join in, and the two ensuing sequels proved it.
With such great memories comes some bittersweet truth, as The Expendables 3, so far, has proven to be the de facto finale of the franchise. The production itself was beset by all sorts of problems, as a PG-13 rating and an eventually leaked copy of the film were among the reasons some have cited for the third installment’s ultimate disappointment at the box office. As everyone has scattered with their own projects, like Stallone’s Rocky IV director’s cut and Jason Statham’s duties on The Meg franchise, as well as the Fast and Furious spin-off Hobbs and Shaw, it almost feels like The Expendable 4 is dead for good.
Then again, with all of the good vibes that The Expendables 3 gave to those participants captured on film, who’s to say that it couldn’t happen again? Sylvester Stallone knows how to get a band back together when he wants to, and with his plate seemingly free of the Creed series, this could be the next big move for him. Provided, of course, that the supposedly-confirmed Demolition Man sequel doesn’t get off the ground first.
