Every so often we get an update on The Expendables 4, usually from Sylvester Stallone, but in this case from one of the franchise's other key stars. UFC champ Randy Couture has played demolitions expert Toll Road -- yes, that's his name, cauliflower ear and all -- in all three Expendables movies to date. He has every intention of returning for Expendables 4, which has been through the development wringer in the past couple of years.
The Expendables came out in 2010, followed by The Expendables 2 in 2012, and The Expendables 3 in 2014. But here we are in 2020 and The Expendables 4 hasn't even filmed yet. So you can imagine why Randy Couture was recently asked if the movie is even still a thing.
It is a thing! I got a script last year and really enjoyed reading it. It was very well done, but where we are on the production scale and getting it moving, I’m not sure. There are a lot of things going on behind the scenes with the producer to make a film that big, so I’m hoping this spring we get the greenlight, but I’m not hearing anything definitive right now.
That's what Randy Couture told The Action Elite when promoting his new movie Final Kill, which is now out in select theaters and On Demand/Digital.
The Expendables has a huge cast by design, but there are certain people you can't do without. First and foremost is Sylvester Stallone, who is currently filming a superhero movie called Samaritan. Sly has co-written the scripts for all of the Expendables movies to date, and also directed the first movie. And when he walked away from the franchise in 2017, it looked like that was it.
First, in late 2016, it was announced that The Expendables 4 would be the final movie, with Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, and Arnold Schwarzenegger all expected to return. Then Sly dropped out in early 2017, reportedly because he couldn't find common ground with producer Avi Lerner on multiple fronts, including a director. That's also the producer Terry Crews cited as a reason he would not return for The Expendables 4, for other reasons.
Arnold Schwarzenegger said he wouldn't be in The Expendables 4 without Sylvester Stallone, so 2017 ended with little hope of The Expendables 4 happening. Then in early 2018, Sly renewed hope, and in May of that year it looked like The Expendables 4 was officially back on. In March 2019, Sylvester Stallone got fans pumped for the movie with a throwback photo alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis. In July 2019, Sly posted that he was starting to cook up the next Expendables adventure, after a flash of inspiration came on July 4th.
It was assumed he was talking about The Expendables 4, but maybe he was talking about the new graphic novel sending the Expendables to hell. Either way, Randy Couture has read a script out there for the fourth movie, and liked what he read. Hopefully we do get the greenlight this spring 2020 for production, although he's right to note that it's not easy to get a film that big off the ground. Each movie seems to amp up the A-list action cast and it takes a lot of work to get the schedules in order.
Speaking of A-list cast, you know fans want Keanu Reeves for The Expendables 4, right? Check out this awesome fan trailer, with Keanu and many, many others:
That would be awesome, but if The Expendables 4 has to wait for Keanu Reeves' schedule to be free, it may never happen. Stay tuned for further updates as they shoot their way across the cinema world.
