The Expendables 4

If you are an action movie aficionado, then The Expendables 4 has been on your radar for the past six years. Six years can seem like an eternity for this Sylvester Stallone and Jason Statham franchise, but it now looks like we are getting much closer to having number four hit the big screen.

There has been considerable movement of late for how this movie is playing out and we know quite a bit about what to expect from the next installment. Let’s take a look at everything we know about Expendables 4. 

EXPENDABLES 4 FINISHED FILMING IN DECEMBER 2021

Expendables 4 is a full go and the group has already finished many parts of the shoot. We know that this is going to be end of the line for Sylvester Stallone in the franchise. This is the guy who visioned out this story and brought the idea to life, uniting seemingly the entirety of the action universe and putting them into a big explosive franchise all at once. 

But Stallone knows when it’s time to move on and it looks like that will be the case after this next movie. He recently took to Instagram to give an update on the status of the film but also talk somewhat bittersweetly about what it meant to shoot his final scene in the franchise.

He talks in the post about passing the baton to Jason Statham, and there doesn’t seem to be much in the way of ambiguity around what Stallone means here. The bigger question now centers on whether his character Lee Christmas actually makes it out of this one alive.

Stallone was definitive that he had shot his last scene for Expendables 4 and there is some chance they have his character go down in a blaze of glory. It would be befitting of what they put together here. 

And then there was Jason Statham showing off some very cool fighting scenes on set as well. This particular video was of set-pieces with Statham taking on a number of different bad guys. It looks like they are having a fun time with this one. Check out what Statham was getting up to on Expendables 4:

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From this standpoint, it looks like Expendables 4 is firing on all cylinders, another great addition to this franchise. And considering what we know about the previous movies, there is sure to be considerable firepower coming down the pike for the next flick.

SYLVESTER STALLONE AND JASON STATHAM ARE RETURNING FOR EXPENDABLES 4

The great thing about The Expendables is how they’ve created a franchise around the ensemble nature of action movies. It was the initial draw for the first film which brought together some of the biggest names to ever do it in the industry. They’ve maintained that same level of star power throughout, keeping some of the same mainstays, but also adding all kinds of new folks along the way.

This next movie is no different. We are getting the aforementioned Sylvester Stallone and Jason Statham back of course. Plus Randy Couture and Dolph Lundgren will reprise their characters of Toll Road and Gunner Jensen respectively. 

MEGAN FOX AND ANDY GARCIA ARE IN EXPENDABLES 4

But there will be some new faces for Expendables 4 as well, some exciting names that will now be added to the story. Megan Fox, Andy Garcia, Tony Jaa, and Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson are all on board for this next movie. It isn’t clear what roles they will be playing in the story and I’m not sure it totally matters.

That really isn’t the point of The Expendables franchise. The key has been to pile on famous faces and let the rest of the story just play out around them.

ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER AND TERRY CREWS ARE NOT RETURNING FOR EXPENDABLES 4

According to Terry Crews, Avi Lerner was the reason he decided he wasn’t returning to the franchise. Crews had been involved in a civil suit against a Hollywood agent, whom Crews claimed groped him at a party in 2016. Lerner himself was under investigation for sexual abuse, so Crews decided that if Lerner was to be involved with The Expendables 4, he would leave the project as well.

Terry Crews said via Cinemablend, “No. Simply because this same producer is under his own … investigation. Abusers protect abusers — and this is one thing I had to decide, whether I was going to draw the line on. Am I going to be a part of this or am I gonna take a stand, and there are projects I had to turn down.”

Arnold Schwarzenegger also said he would not return to the franchise without Sylvester Stallone guiding the series. He has not been confirmed for this next movie. And it looks like with Stallone leaving this part of the franchise, Schwarzenegger is probably about as well.

As far as others like Jean-Claude Van Damme, well he had suggested could see the brother of Van Damme’s Jean Vilain from Expendables 2 show up to wreak havoc. The brother’s name? Claude Vilain. He would also suggest he would be bringing along his real-life kids and actors, Kris and Bianca Van Damme, to be part of a team Claude Vilain trains to go after Stallone and the crew.

THE EXPENDABLES FRANCHISE WAS THE BRAINCHILD OF SYLVESTER STALLONE

The first Expendables, bowing in 2010, was an ‘80s action movie lovers’ delight. It was a throwback to those big, mindless Sylvester Stallone/Arnold Schwarzenegger action flicks that brought with it casts a fan could die for.

It was Stallone’s brainchild, a story he co-wrote that would bring in many former and current action stars, give them their own stories that would showcase their action talents, blow up a lot of shit, and let the heroes ride off into the sunset (well, most of them) to live another day. Or in this case, for a sequel, and now, The Expendables 4.

Sylvester Stallone brought together some big guns for his first Expendables. On top of having Jason Statham, Terry Crews, Randy Couture, and Steve Austin, he also brought back classic action stars such as Jet Li and Dolph Lundgren.

Stallone also brought in action legends like Bruce Willis, and of course, Arnold Schwarzenegger. With star-power like that, of course, there would be a sequel, and hopefully soon, an Expendables 4.

The Expendables 2 arrived two years later to great anticipation. Who else could Sly Stallone convince to appear? (A question we’re still asking with Expendables 4) He brought back his “regulars”: Jason Statham, Terry Crews, Jet Li, and Dolph Lundgren. He also got Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger to return to their respective roles, this time giving them bigger parts, and brought back Charisma Carpenter as Statham’s girlfriend.

But now, Sylvester Stallone was able to talk other classic action stars to join the fun. He brought in Jean-Claude Van Damme to appear as the villain, Jean Vilain, and then in a coup that fans relished, he brought in Chuck Norris (along with a few classic Norris jokes) to round out his amazing cast.

Does it truly matter, at this point, what the story was about? Just give us tons of action, great fights, loud explosions, tender “manly” moments, and call it a day. That’s all we truly need from Expendables 4 too.

The Expendables 3 also came two years after the previous installment, a tradition which would be broken in the buildup to Expendables 4. Once again, story be damned, the real story was who would appear in this latest Expendables.

Stallone and his regular crew returned, but this time Stallone added some new blood with former UFC champion Ronda Rousey and former welterweight boxing champ Victor Ortiz.

As for the legends, the original Blade, Wesley Snipes made his series debut. While not necessarily known for his action films, Kelsey Grammar was a nice addition, and Antonio Banderas joined the ever-expanding cast. Finally, Expendables 3 added two big names:

Harrison Ford and Mel Gibson, the latter of which gleefully played the film’s villain. Certainly, with all the success from the first three – and many of these action stars aging quickly – Expendables 4 was surely in the works to follow the same two-year release pattern of its predecessors, right?  Not so fast.

It’s been six years since The Expendables 3 and we are now getting closer to Expendables 4 which is set to hit screens some time in 2022.

EXPENDABLES 4 HAS A $100 MILLION DOLLAR BUDGET

For an action film with some big-name stars, The Expendables started out with a modest $80 million budget. The next two films reached around $100 million each budget dollars which makes sense considering some of the main players were coming back, everyone was looking for raises, and the stakes were ramped up a bit.

But The Expendables 4 is looking like it’s really going to blow it out of the box. Now, this all comes from an interview with Dolph Lundgren who said that Sylvester Stallone and company were planning on doubling the budget of this fourth film. It doesn’t take a math whiz to land The Expendables 4 at $200 million before it’s all said and done.

There is yet to be confirmation on this number and movie budgets can definitely tend to be moving targets. There’s the initial production budget which is usually something close to a set amount, but then advertising and promotional dollars start working their way into the mix and that’s where we get, sometimes huge, ranges on the final number. Often only the studio knows exactly what they spent and what box office target the movie needs to hit.

There is still quite a bit we don’t know about The Expendables 4. The budget is still a rumor and there is still no set release date either. Lionsgate had said the movie would come sometime in 2022.

So we are still waiting on Expendables 4 news to see how this franchise moves forward.