When Kellen Lutz entered talks to join the cast of The Expendables 3 late last month it came with news that the film's plot would partially involve the members of the titular team going head-to-head with a team of younger, tech-savvy mercenaries. If that is the case and Lutz has indeed signed on, then it's possible that the size of that rival group has just doubled. The Hollywood Reporter has learned that 24-year-old actor Glen Powell has signed on for the sequel, and is set to play "a highly trained combat veteran who is also an expert hacker and drone pilot."
This casting news comes in the wake of a lot of behind-the-scenes drama involving star/writer Sylvester Stallone and co-star Bruce Willis, who appeared in both of the first two Expendables movies. Following the news that Harrison Ford had joined the film's cast and that Willis had walked away from the negotiating table it was reported that the Die Hard star wouldn't be in the movie unless he was paid $4 million for four days work (a counteroffer to a proposed $3 million contract). Since then we have also heard that Machete Kills co-stars Mel Gibson and Antonio Banderas are going to be in the movie, with the former playing the central antagonist that the two teams of mercenaries have to team up against in order to defeat.
The new report also confirms that Jackie Chan and Nicholas Cage will be joining the franchise with the second sequel, though, strangely, there is no mention of either Wesley Snipes or Milla Jovovich (it's strange because all four were announced at the exact same time). The THR story also makes no mention of any of the returning stars other than Stallone, but it's hard to imagine that part three won't include Jason Statham, Terry Crews, Randy Coture, and/or Dolph Lundgren - not to mention Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Powell has done quite a bit of both television and film work in his career, but he's mostly had small parts. Some of his credits include The Dark Knight Rises, CSI Miami, The Great Debaters, and NCIS. His first credited role was as "Long-fingered Boy" in Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over (which, weirdly enough, gives the movie another Robert Rodriguez connection).
The Expendables 3 is being produced by Nu Image and Millennium Films and Lionsgate will release it on August 15, 2014. Patrick Hughes, who made his directorial debut with the 2010 Aussie western Red Hill, is serving as director on the project. To get an idea of what we can expect from the filmmaker, check out the trailer below.
