Over the course of three Expendables movies the franchise has showcased just about every great action movie star of the last 40 years or so. Between heroes, and villains, main characters and cameos, it feels like we’ve seen just about everybody there is to see. But Expendables 4 will add yet more characters to the franchise, because the team is actually running a little thin.
Expendables 4 will see the return of only four of the main Expendables actors, Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, and Randy Couture. They have appeared in all three of the previous entries, but since others who have been seen in previous films, like Terry Crews or Jet Li, won’t be back, Couture recently told uInterview that the new movie needed some new blood…
Obviously there’s only four old Expandable characters left, and that’s me and Dolph and Statham and Stallone. So we added an influx of new people. 50 Cent who I’ve worked with before and have a lot of respect for. Megan Fox which was nice meeting somebody new. Andy Garcia who I’ve been a big fan of forever and has done some amazing work in the film industry.
While most of the actors who have appeared in Expendables movies have been classic cinematic action heroes, like Chuck Norris or Jean Claude Van-Damme, the movies have had their share of fresher faces as well. Megan Fox and 50 Cent aren’t exactly new to action movies, but neither are they quite at the traditional Expendables level of old school. Andy Garcia certainly adds his long career to the franchise, but he’s not exactly known for big action movies.
If nothing else the rotating cast of characters makes each Expendables movie a little bit different which at least keeps things interesting. And from what we’ve seen of Megan Fox on the set of Expendables 4, she looks pretty awesome, so this new movie could be quite a lot of fun. For a long time we didn’t think we were even going to get a fourth Expendables movie.
And action movie fans will still see plenty of action heroes squaring off. In addition to seeing western starts like Stallone and Statham, Expendables 4 is set to also include Tony Jaa and Iko Uwais, two action stars who are so big they’ve made action movies from overseas hits domestically, something that is still unusual, though certainly becoming less so as modern technology makes movies from all over the world more accessible.
The only question now is when we will actually get to see Expendables 4. The film is currently in post-production and is expected to be released this year, but no specific date has been given.
